Filling In the Holes
by Crystal Manning
Summary: When an orphaned family is sent to CGL, the whole camp is turned upsidedown. From fights breaking out to dark secrets being told, bad luck follows this family where ever they go. Will they finally feel accepted? SquidxOC and OCxOC. Complete.
1. Welcome to Camp Green Lake

**Chapter One-Welcome to Camp Green Lake**

**-Mackenzie's POV-**

"Damn Crimson! Hurry up all ready!" I yelled as I jabbed the cashier in the head with my black pistol. 'Crimson' hastily shoved money into the sack and the jumped over the counter screaming, "Let's go, Cascade!"

Hitting the cashier with the butt of the gun, I began to run after him. I could hear the shouts of onlookers calling the police but we didn't care.

"We have to split up and meet back at HQ," Crimson said as we continued to run. He stopped at an alley briefly before he turned to me. Really faint sirens were in the distance but I could tell they were getting closer. "And if we get caught-"

"We _won't_ get caught!" I insisted as I punched his shoulder.

"Just incase, I want to give you something to remember me by." Crimson grabbed my arms and pulled me to him in a passionate kiss. He's never kissed me like that before and I could feel myself melt into his embrace. He pulled away as he whispered, "Good luck."

"Good luck."

I turned down the alley way and jumped the brick wall that was in my way. I turned back to make sure that I wasn't followed when I struck a trashcan and rolled into the street.

And I guess you could say the rest was history.

---------------------------------------

The bus ride was so damn hot. I knew I shouldn't be complaining because I was doing this for my twin brother, Matthew. Basically the reason we were being sent to Camp Green Lake was because he was accused of stealing, arson, and murder; although he was innocent. I wasn't because I killed, and stole, and set things aflame, but they didn't charge me for it. We were so hungry and we haven't eaten in days. We had to keep our little sister a live somehow, so stealing is the only way Ican do that. I come across as a sweet, innocent girl as a ploy so they won't suspect my accomplice

I guess I wasn't sweet enough today. They saw right through me like glass. I guess I let my guard drop because I've done that millions of times before. Stealing is the only way I can keep my little sister alive. I care about her health more than mine, only because she's too innocent.

She was surprised to see police at our rundown house and they were surprised to know that we lived alone. We did have parents, but our mom died and our dad just left us for a dead.

Now he can't harm my little sister because they made her come with us. They figured she was in on it and sent us all here. They sent a little girl to a juvenile detention facility and she didn't even do anything!

My father should be the one going to camp or a jail.

Not us!

**-Flashback-**

_I sat nervously on my bed as I bit my lower lip. I looked at the clock and confirmed the time. 6:07 PM. My dad would be home any minute. He always came home at about 6:10. That always gave me time to try and hide. I was afraid of him. No one knew that, not even my twin brother or my little sister. They think I love my father to death._

_Well they're wrong._

_What they don't know is, whenever he comes into my room at night to help me with 'homework', he actually beats me. He makes sure my screams aren't heard and that my bruises and scars and cuts are covered up before I go and play with my little sister or read with my twin._

_I don't deserve this life, but this is the way I have to live it. I don't have many friends because of my kept secret. They think I'm too quiet and too depressed that I don't want to do anything with them. I guess they're right, but I am friends with my brothers' friends. But that's probably because I'm his twin._

_"MACKENZIE!"_

_The thing I'm afraid of more than dad hitting me when he is sober, is him hitting me when he is drunk. I quickly dove under the bed and stayed threre, trembling as I heard the front door open and close._

_"Matthew, where's your sister?" I heard his muffled voice through the floor._

_"In her room waiting for you to come up and help her with her homework," he responded. I chocked back a sob as I heard these words. 'If only he knew'. I quickly shut up when I heard my door open, close, and lock. I was trapped in here with a maniac. I knew better than to call the police because he would split me, my brother, and my sister up and I would rather die then let that happen._

_A hand suddenly reached underneath the bed and grabbed my ponytail. I held in a scream of pain as I was dragged out from underneath it. I looked up with fear filled eyes into the angry bloodshot ones of my father. He had a malicious grin on his face as he yanked me onto my feet and shoved me back onto my bed. I heard a noise and felt my head buried into my covers as sharp pain hit my lower back._

_My cry of pain was muffled as he whipped me with his belt in the same spot again and again. My breathing was cut off as I began to get light headed. I was finally lifted from the covers and took in a deep breath, only to get it knocked out by being slammed into my dresser and thrown onto the floor._

_"Stop it! Please!" I cried as I covered my face with my arms. He punched me in the stomach and I curled up in a ball from the pain._

_"Shut up, you bitch!" He screamed as he kicked me in the side. I cried out as he kicked me again. Then all was silent as he left the room. My body ached and I crawled over to my bed with difficulty. I sighed once I felt the mattress sink under my weight. I just lay there as drowsiness took over me and I fell into a light sleep._

_I knew that was a dangerous decision but I was so tired…_

_I was woken up by my bed being pulled out from under me and flung up against the wall. I land on the floor on the side away from him, thank goodness, so my eyes had a little bit of time to adjust._

_"You should have known that was not all your punishment you piece of shit!" I hear him scream._

_'Lord, please let Matthew not be in here yet.' I take a quick glance across the room. His bed was empty. 'Thank god.'_

_He lunged at me with my blanket in his hand. I was so scared that I tried running for the closet even though I knew he wasn't drunk and would follow me. Right after I shut the door behind me he opens it and jerks my arm out of socket and me out into the open._

_"You stupid little bitch, you think your so smart but your NOT!" He takes the blanket and wraps it around my neck and then tightens it to where I can't catch my breath. I pulled at the contraption around my neck but I couldn't get it loose. I was suffocating. Surely this time, he would conquer his goal or what seemed to be his goal; I was going to die right then and there._

_I brought back my heel and smashed him in the groin. He threw me across the room and I hit my head on my dresser. He kicked me in the side one last time as I coughed up a little blood as I faintly heard the door slam._

_I couldn't take this anymore._

_I had to leave._

_I quietly crept into Matthew's dark room and shook him. He had a soccer game earlier and I guess he was really tired. He shot up at the first touch and looked at me through the darkness._

_"C'mon, we're getting out of here."_

_Matthew was with me 100 percent. He all ready knew what we were going to do._

**-End Flashback-**

I don't know why I was the only one he hit, I'm just happy he didn't rape me. Sometimes I think that him beating me gave me a bad heart, I fought back at anyone who tried to get close to me. That's how I got chosen to be in the street gang the Nightmare Soldiers. We had a grudge against our rivals, the Shadow Stalkers, and almost every night my life was at risk in the battles. That's where I got half of my scars and bruises, but Matthew and my little sis didn't need to know that.

"Mack."

I turned and looked into my brother's green eyes. I know this sounds weird, but I always get lost in them when I look at him. No, I'm not in love with my brother, but I do love him. He and I are really close. Closer than most twins.

"What is it, Matt?" I asked turning slightly, sending a wave a heat rushing up to my head.

"You know that the guard said Camp Green Lake is a guys' prison camp," he started slowly, watching my expression. "And chances are you and Max will be the only girls there."

"I'm not worried about that." I said as I turned my head to look out the window. "I'm strong Matt, and you know that. I don't always need you to protect me."

"I know, but I'm always here for you. And Max. No matter what."

The bus skidded to a halt and I slammed my head into the seat in front of me. Thank god I was wearing a hat or that would've hurt like hell. The guard uncuffed us from the seat we were cuffed to and followed us off the bus.

Right as we stepped off a man with way too much zinc oxide on his nose came up to us with an overly friendly smile on his face.

"I'm going to start off by saying that I know you aren't bad kids. You just made a bad decision. And I'm going to help you change. My name is Dr. Pendanski. Matthew, you'll be in D-Tent. Mackenzie you and Max will be in G-Tent. D stands for diligence and G stands for…well girl." He said as we started our trek to our tent. "That's the Mess Hall, the Wreck Room, and the showers. There's only one temperature, cold."

"Joy," Max said as she rolled her eyes. She's been complaining for the past three hours. It's nothing new though; a young girl like her would complain that much for that long.

"Dr. Pendanski, bring them over here." A gruff voice called out. Max hid behind Matthew as he and his twin turned to see a man with a big gut who was wearing sunglasses and a big sun hat. Dr. Pendanski lead the family over to him by their shoulders. He motioned for them to come inside and they followed hesitantly.

"My name is Mr. Sir. You will dig a hole five feet wide and five feet deep. You will wear these jumpsuits, one is your work clothes, the other is your relaxing clothes. You will wash them on the third day and sixth day of every week. If you find something interesting, report back to me or Pendanski. You might even get the day off." He paused and looked down at Max's trembling figure. A cruel smile crossed his face as he said, "This aint the Girl Scouts."

The family grabbed their things and left the cabin where Dr. Pendanski was waiting for them. He showed them around and pointed out where they would stay. Matthew would be put in D-Tent and Mackenzie and Max would be put in G-Tent. (G for girl, duh!)

"Hey Mom! Who're the noobs?" A boy asked as he walked up. Turning around, Matthew noted that one was black and the other was white. The black boy had dirt covered glasses and the white boy was wearing a white doo rag.

"Hey Mom, who's the boob?" Mackenzie asked with a smirk as the boys got closer.

"This is Rex and Alan. Boys, this is Matthew, Mackenzie, and Max," Dr. Pendanski said as he pointed to them.

"The name's X-Ray. And that's Squid," Rex said as he shook his head. "Mom always gets our names wrong."

"They all have their little nicknames," Dr. Pendanski explained when he noted the confused look on Matthew's face. "However, I prefer to use the names their parents gave them–the names that society will recognize them by." Max started to giggle once she noticed that Squid was imitating Dr. Pendanski. He seemed to gain a satisfied smile on his face once he heard the little girl's laughter. "You'll meet the other boys of D-Tent later. Ricky will be your mentor," he added to Matthew. "Although you're in a different tent, you two will be a part of D-Tent also. That means I want you boys to treat them with respect. You understand?"

"Yes Mom," X-Ray and Squid responded in unison, although Squid looked like he didn't mean it.

Once Dr. Pendanski walked away Max turned to Squid and asked, "That Pendanski guy, is always up in your face?"

"Pretty much," he responded before he knelt so he was eye level with the young girl. "Look, it'sa dangerous place here. If you ever run into any trouble, call for me, aiight Shorty?"

"Ok," she responded uncertainly.

Squid stood and smirked as he said, "Welcome to Camp Green Lake."


	2. Shorty and Squid

**Chapter Two-Shorty and Squid**

"Was that supposed to be threat?" Mackenzie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"It's supposed to mean that you and Shorty won't last a day here," Squid responded before he and X-Ray walked off.

"What do we do now?" Matthew asked as he turned to his sisters.

"Unpack I guess," Max responded as she picked up the backpack that she had dropped to the ground. She and Mackenzie walked over to their tent and found it hotter than it was outside. They put their clothes in small crates and changed into their orange jumpsuits. Mackenzie wore a dark blue cap on backwards, her hair was up in a ponytail and the single cerulean blue streak was hanging to the right side of her chin. She wore a light blue t-shirt and had the sleeves of the orange jumpsuit tied around her waist. Max had a dark purple knit hat on her head, pressing her black pigtails against her neck. She wore a light purple sleeveless shirt and had the arms of the jumpsuit tied around her waist also. "I hate this," she said as she wiped her eyes.

"Max, we didn't even do anything yet. How can you hate it?" Mackenzie asked, flopping down on her cot.

"Because we got in trouble with the law! And I didn't even do anything, and now we're stuck here. It's like we moved again, but to a hot desert! I want air conditioning! I want to go home!"

"Listen Max, you don't want to go back home. We lived in a rundown shack. We didn't have any food and Matthew and I barely had jobs. At least here we have food and we don't have to worry about surviving."

"Yeah, 'cause now we have help."

Mackenzie grunted from her cot as she rolled over onto her stomach. She heard a whispereing noise and looked up to see Matthew standing in the doorway of the tent with Squid, X-Ray, and some other boys.

"Damn Squid, I thought you were lying when you said we had a girl in the camp," the tall blond said with a low whistle. Mackenzie rolled her eyes as she rolled onto her back and sat up.

"What do you want?" She demanded with a suspicious look in her eye.

"To introduce you," Matthew responded. "That's Zigzag, Magnet, Armpit, Caveman, Twitch, and Zero. Guys, these are my sisters Max and Mackenzie."

"What did you get sent here for?" Magnet asked as the boys scattered themselves around the tent.

"Being a little nosy, are we?"

"Either tell us now or wait until after dinner when we have our little "Happy Circle" moment," X-Ray responded with quote movements as he said the words Happy Circle.

"Why don't I just not tell you at all and you leave me the fuck alone?" Mackenzie questioned in a dangerous voice.

"Where are you from?" Caveman questioned.

"What, am I in an interrogation room or something?"

"We're from Florida originally," Matthew piped up. "But we moved around a lot. So we used to live in California, Hawaii, Australia, and for a couple of months, Canada."

"Why'd you move so much?"

"Family reasons."

"What I really want to know, is why the sent Shorty with you," Squid interrupted as he locked eyes with Max. She blinked and stated, "My name's not Shorty. It's Max."

"We have a thing here that if you get a nickname, then that's the name that we call you for the rest of your stay here at Camp Green Lake. It's a showing of respect here," Magnet explained.

"You respect a little kid that fast?" Mackenzie asked Squid with a raised eyebrow.

"She's not butt-ugly like you," he responded with a smirk."

"Look in a mirror lately?"

"There aren't any mirrors here."

"Good thing, your ugly face would've broken it in one glance." The boys howled with laughter as Squid scowled and a smirk replaced Mackenzie's frown. Matthew had a look that was half amusement and half shock as he stared at his twin. She just shrugged as Max giggled behind her palm. "I think it's fair that we get to interrogate you boys now. First, why doesn't Zero talk?"

"Zero only talks to Caveman," X-Ray responded. "Either that or he doesn't talk at all. But it doesn't matter, he doesn't have anything good to say."

Mackenzie's anger flared up once again, and Matthew could tell. He shushed her with a hard look as she shook her head slightly, as if she were disappointed in him. Matthew turned his attention to Twitch and asked, "How come you don't stop twitchin'?"

"He gets like that every time he sees a car. That's why he was sent here. He got caught joy riding in a Mustang convertible," X-Ray responded again. He seemed to be the leader of D-tent and no one else had a problem with that. If they had leaders by intimidation, then Zigzag would've been the leader because, to Matthew, the crazy look in his eye would intimidate anyone.

"I have a question," Max finally said as she sat up on her cot. "Why are you nice to me but not nice to my sister?" She questioned Squid with a stare.

"That's something I'd rather not talk about," he responded.

"Something bad happen in your past?" He nodded and she responded with a small smile, "It can't be worse than what I had to go through. I mean, I'm an eight-year-old at a camp where they make children work and there are no labor laws. Nothing can be worse than that."

"Shorty's got a good point," Caveman said while nodding in agreement.

"All right boys, it's time for our meeting. Head on into the Wreck Room," Dr. Pendanski said as he ushered them out. Mackenzie followed her twin, grumbling under her breath. Max started to follow. She noticed Squid was walking alone an ran to catch up with him.

"You never answered my question," she pointed out.

"Look, Shorty, I'm not in the mood to-" he started.

"Did you leave someone you love behind?"

Squid stopped walking and looked back at her as she stared back with her intense green and blue eyes.

"How'd you know?"

"Because that's the same look Matt or Mack give me when they have to leave on 'trips'. Who'd you leave behind?"

After a moment of silence, Max didn't expect him to answer, but she faintly heard him say, "My little sister, Ally." He lifted his head and added, "You remind me a lot of her. Same personality, same childishness, same way of making me smile. When you first got here, I thought you were her and…"

"You thought I'd replace her?"

"You're too smart for an eight-year-old."

"So I've been told. Why don't you just write her?"

"I'm afraid she'll hate me."

She and Squid had stopped outside of the Wreck room and were just talking, ignoring the voices that were coming from inside.

"Here's what I learned that I think is really important. If you like something that much, go for it. There's nothing you can lose."

Giving Squid a gentle pat on the arm, Max turned and walked into the Wreck Room. Squid stood outside, pondering over what the oung girl had just told him before walking in after her.


	3. Glare Digs His First Hole

**Chapter Three-Glare Digs His First Hole**

"You were all sent here for doing bad things. And you can't blame anyone else but yourselves," Dr. Pendanski stated once everyone in D-Tent were sitting down in chairs and paying attention to him.

"Is the lack of parental guidance an exception?" Mack asked as she leaned back in her chair, balancing it on the back two legs.

"No it is not. What your parents never taught you is your fault because you didn't ask them to teach you the important things in life." Mack just grunted while Matt and Max aka Shorty exchanged glances. The boys noticed this but didn't say anything as the creaking from Mack's chair was the only noise that was heard in the room. "Why don't we go around telling each other why we were sent here? Rex, you first."

"I was sent here for drug dealing," X-Ray responded.

"I was sent for stealing," Magnet said with a small smile.

"Setting things on fire," Zigzag said with a crooked smile.

"Joyriding." Twitch said with a small eye twitch.

"Breaking and entering, tagging, getting into gang fights." Squid said in a bored tone.

"Stealing a pair of shoes," Caveman said with a tone of shame in his voice. Zero didn't say anything so everyone's eyes landed on the Montgomery siblings. Matt nodded to Mack, who nodded to Shorty. She nodded back and said in a soft voice, "All of the above and a lot more."

"Don't you feel better now that you got that off of your chests?" Dr. Pendanski asked with a wide smile.

"No," the Montgomerys responded in unison before they stood simultaneously and left the Wreck Room with the slamming of the door. The boys sat in an uncomfortable silence until voices leaked its way into the Wreck room. All of them, minus Dr. Pendanski and Zero, went to the door and looked around the dark Camp. They left the Wreck Room and started to follow the noise.

"Do you think we'll ever be safe?" They heard Shorty ask after a moment of silence.

"I hope so, Shorty," Mack responded. "But who knows how long we stay here until we're officially sent to jail again? The police won't hesitate to capture us. We're wanted in five different states."

"We will just have to make the best of it," Matt said in a firm voice. He paused and asked, "Ma – I mean Shorty, do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

"No. I got Mackie here. Don't worry about us."

"With my sisters in a guys only camp, I can't help but worry. Goodnight."

"'Night."

The boys of D-Tent quickly rushed back to their tent. Matt paused at the girls' tent entrance with a suspicious look in his eye before he stepped down and began to walk towards the tent. Once he walked in he noticed that the guys were either just sitting on their cots talking or playing cards.

He took off is orange jumpsuit so he was in his t-shirt and boxers and climbed into his cot and pulled the covers up to his neck. He didn't go to sleep right away. First he prayed for his sisters and himself, and then he thought about his fellow tentmates. He ended up making a list and it went something like:

**X-Ray: **_The leader of the group. Tells everyone what to do and they surprisingly listen. Doesn't take back talk that well and is the voice of the whole tent when it has to deal with Mr. Sir or Dr. Pendanski._

**Armpit:** _Guess why he got that nickname. Is X-Ray's right hand man and intimidates everyone who speaks badly of D-Tent. Is amusing once you get to know him. But don't get too close to him. (Physically. Don't want to pass out.)_

**Squid:**_ Seems like the bad boy of the group. (They're all bad, but he's worse.) Is very intimidating, unless he's around Shorty for some reason. Always fights with my twin, but I think there's a hidden meaning behind it. (Remember to keep him away from her.) Has a bad attitude, makes fun of people, and smirks a lot. Doesn't like to talk about his past or his home. (Something bad happen?)_

**Zigzag:** _Weird, but in his own way. I think he suffers from paranoia because he looks at me like I'm an alien. (Ask someone in the tent to be sure.) Is friendly once you get to know him. Is kind in his own way and seems to like both my sisters (as friends, obviously.)_

**Magnet:**_ Likes to joke around and make the other members of D-Tent stay in a good mood. Seems very helpful. (Go to him with questions.) Hide anything valuable incase he tries to steal it. They don't call him Magnet for nothing._

**Twitch:**_ He's ok. Isn't like most guys of the tent. One of the kindest. Seems to look out for my sisters and I because he arrived at the camp recently. Try to stay away from him if he's holding something while he twitches. (Might get hurt by the object he's holding.)_

**Caveman:**_ Definitely the nicest. I don't see how a guy like him got sent here. It seems like he wouldn't survive. Respected by his tentmates anyway. Helps me get around and learn the ropes of Camp Green Lake. (May be able to help my sisters and I survive.)_

**Zero:**_ Doesn't say much. But it's like they say, "It's the quiet ones you have to look out for." None of the other tentmates treat him well. Try to get him to talk, he may become an important part of D-Tent._

"Matt."

'_Who the hell is saying my name? Can't they tell I want to sleep?'_

"Matt?"

'_Leave me the fuck alone. I don't want to wake up yet!'_

"Matt."

"What can be so damn important that you're waking me up this early in the morning?" He groaned from his bed without opening his eyes. He felt a jab in his side and forced them open. He turned his head and saw Zigzag staring down at him with a small crazy smile on his face.

"It's time to wake up, dude," he told Matt before he went back to his cot and started to pull on his boots.

"Why am I waking up at 4:30 in the morning?" Matt asked before he rolled over.

"So we don't have to dig in the hottest part of the day," Squid responded as he and Twitch grasped his cot mattress and yanked it up, causing Matt to fall to the ground. "Hurry up or you'll miss breakfast."

"Would wan to do that now would we?" Matt muttered sarcastically as he rubbed his head. Sighing, he grabbed his orange jumpsuit and pulled it on and, like the others, tied the sleeves around his waist. He pulled on his boots and placed his red hat on backwards on his head and followed them out of the tent.

There was a small cool breeze that caressed his face as he rubbed his tired eyes. His feet shuffled against the sand as he heard tired voices escape in the night. He walked right into someone and the current state his was in made him topple over.

"You that tired bro?" Mack asked as she and Shorty helped him stand.

"No, I wake up at 4:30 on a regular basis," He replied sarcastically as he glared at them. "Of course I'm that tired."

"No need to get mad."

"Yo Shorty, you coming to breakfast?" Squid called.

"Coming Squiddy!" She called back with a wave.

"Why does he always hang around you? Don't you think he should be hanging around the others?" Matt asked her as the family followed D-Tent to the Mess Hall.

"Let's just say I'm smarter than your average eight-year-old and he takes advantage of that," was all Shorty responded as they walked inside. Looks were shot their way and whispers filled the Mess Hall as the family passed. Some whistles were heard along with cat calls but Mack blocked them all out as she whispered something to Matt. Shorty looked around with a look of fear in her eyes.

"Need an escort?" Zigzag asked with his southern drawl as he walked up. Shorty nodded thankfully and followed him to the table. Shorty was at one end next to Matt who was sitting next to Magnet. Across from Shorty was Mack who was sitting in between Zigzag and Caveman. They looked down at their cereal in disgust, not bothering to touch the orange juice that came with it. The rest of D-Tent looked at them expectantly. Mack, being the bravest, lifted a spoonful of the cereal past her lips and into her mouth. Her right eyelid twitched ever so slightly as she chewed and swallowed heavily. "Well?"

"It's all right, not one of the best cereals I've eaten though," she responded in a hoarse voice.

"Should I eat it too?" Shorty asked.

"Of course," Matt responded.

"You're going to need your strength to dig anyway," Magnet pointed out as he took a sip of juice.

"How can you stand eating this stuff?" Mack asked Caveman in a hushed tone.

"You get used to it," he told her with a shrug. "Just like you get used to the heat and the blisters. But it might take a while for you to get used to the stares," he added as he looked over his shoulder. Mack followed his gaze and saw about eight different guys checking her out. She flipped them off and turned back around.

"As long as we have girls in our tent, it is up to us guys to make sure that they're safe," X-Ray said once he noticed the guys looking over at their table.

"Excuse me, but I don't need protection," Mack said in a dangerous voice.

"You don't know what the other boys here area capable of," Twitch said. He looked around the room and nodded to a boy with a shaved head. "That's Perv. You can guess why he got that name. He tried to rape the three other girls that were sent here. Then there's Twist. He got his name from his twisted mind. Those same girls that Perv tried to rape, he'd keep touching their asses. And then there's –"

"Enough! I get it! Stop talking about things like that around Shorty!" Mack demanded. The boys all looked at the small girl who was trembling in her seat. Her face was a little pale and her green and blue eyes were wide.

"Sorry Shorty," Matt said as he gently kissed the side of her head. "I'll make sure no one gets near you." He noticed when he said these words that Squid got a strange look on his face. Matt raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as the sound of scraping chairs filled the hall and they all stood. Matt grasped Shorty's hand and they made their way to the Library. Shorty balanced the weight of the shovel leaning against her as she pulled on her black fingerless gloves and started to follow them across the lake.

"Dig here," Mr. Sir told Matt once he stopped. "Once again, if you find something interesting, report to me or Pendanski."

"What am I supposed to be looking for?" Matt questioned.

"You're not supposed to be looking for anything," he responded as if it were obvious. He spat sunflower seeds out of his mouth and walked back to his truck. Matt turned his shovel around and stuck the blade into the ground. He stomped on it once to get it stuck in the ground before he pulled on his fingerless gloves. Looking out at Mack he noticed that she was well on her way to getting her dug. He looked to Shorty and saw that she was getting her hole dug by Zero. '_Probably because she's shorter than him. That's all.'_

The boys dug in silence and gradually the sun started to rise, causing Matt to start to sweat under his orange jumpsuit. He took off his hat and wiped his forehead with the back of his gloves. Suddenly shadows fell into his two foot hole and he looked up. The two boys from before, Perv and Twsit, were looking down into his hole.

"What?" Matt demanded as he shielded his eyes from the sun.

"We want to meet your sisters," Twist said with a grin on his face.

"Let me set you straight," Matt said as he jumped out of his hole and brought his shovel up. "You stay away from my sisters or you'll have to deal with me!" He growled with a piercing glare.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Perv asked as he gave Matt a shove. Everyone in D-Tent stopped to see what Matt would do. He just smirked as he held the shaft in between his hands. He swiftly brought up his knee and broke it in half. He started to swing the two pieces of the shovel around, almost catching Twist in the side with the blade.

"Let's get out of here!" Twist cried before he started to shove Perv and the two started to run away.

"That's right, run back to B-Tent!" Magnet called after them.

"Don't mess with Glare!" Armpit added as everyone else in D-Tent hollered with joy. Matt looked around as D-Tent laughed and talked about what they had witnessed.

"You're the man, Glare," Zigzag said with a nod towards him.

Somehow the nickname felt right to him. Matt grinned as he looked down at his broken shovel. He was suddenly tackled to the ground by his sisters as they started to congratulate him. Shorty started to tickle him and the siblings rolled around, laughing. A shadow of a smile formed on Squid's lips before he returned to digging.


	4. Icy and the Warden

**Chapter Four-Icy and the Warden**

"This is so goddamn _stupid_!" Mack hissed as she threw another shovel of dirt out of her hole. "What's the point of digging _stupid_ holes in the _stupid_ heat with guys who are just plain _stupid_?"

"Who you callin' stupid, girlie?" Squid demanded as he leaned against his shovel.

"They guy who chews on a toothpick like its tobacco."

The toothpick in his mouth snapped in half as he bit down hard on it and looked over at her with a hard glare. She just glared back before she turned and started to reach over to take a sip of water from her canteen. She stopped and looked down at the creature before her before she let out a scream and jumped back.

A chorus of "What is it?" and "What's wrong?" came from the other members of D-Tent as they rushed over. Once they looked in some of their faces paled as their eyes rested on a yellow-spotted lizard.

"Did it bite you?" Twitch asked.

"How many spots does it have?" Zigzag asked.

"Who cares how many spots it has? It's just looking at me funny with a huge row of teeth," Mack responded as she backed up to the edge of her hole. As the lizard prepared its jump at her, two strong hands grasped her arms and yanked her out of the hole.

"You ok?" Shorty asked as she touched her sister's hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Mack responded as she shook slightly. She looked up at Zigzag and muttered, "Thanks," as a shadow of a smile crossed her face.

"No problem, girlie," he responded in his southern drawl before he went back to his hole.

"Who ya calling girlie? I swear if you call me that again you will die a horrible death!" Mack growled as she tried to charge towards him but her twin held her back.

"The only way that can happen is if someone looks you in the face," Squid said with a sneer. "They'll die from lack of oxygen when they scream."

She checked to see if her hole was empty before she dared to start digging again. Something about that sentence triggered a feeling of hatred and pain to go shooting through her body as she suddenly stiffened. A vacant expression was in her eyes as she stared across the vacant desert. Her hands turned into fists as she remembered when it all started, back when she and Glare were nine and Shorty was only two.

**-Flashback (Mack's POV)-**

_I sighed heavily as I stared at the math problem that was on my paper. I had been staring at it for the last hour. And there's a rule in my house: if you don't finish your homework, you can't do anything else. That includes watching tv or eating dinner. That rule alone made me a lot thinner than most girls in my class because I was never able to eat anything. Sometimes Matt would sneak me some food, but I think my dad was catching on to him because he made sure he had finished all of his food and hid the leftovers._

"_Mackenzie, I need you to do the dishes," dad said as he walked into my room._

"_Sorry dad, but I have to finish this math problem." I responded as I tapped my pencil on the desk._

"_I'm sure it's done and you're trying to find a way out of doing the dishes. Now come on," he said in a little bit more firmer tone._

"_I'm seriously stumped on this problem, dad," I said as I turned around to face him. He raised an eyebrow as he clenched and unclenched his fists. He walked over and snatched the piece of paper off of my desk and looked at it. _

"_This problem isn't that hard."_

"_Well…to you it may not be…but-"_

"_I'm not paying your school that much money just so you can be stupid!"_

"_I-I'm not stupid. It's just hard-" I stopped in mid-sentence as I felt the sting of his slap on my cheek and my head snapped to the side. I didn't dare move as I panted heavily, trying to keep the tears from falling. But that hurt a lot._

"_Don't give me that shit! I knew from the start that you were a stupid kid! I don't even know why we kept you! You're brother is smarter than you! And he's your twin! What, were you born with stupid genes?"_

"_If I was, I probably got it from you."_

_SMACK! That's what I get for speaking before thinking: another hard slap to the all ready tender cheek. I bit my lip to keep from crying out._

"_Don't you dare talk to me like that again, you little bitch!"_

_I didn't say anything as I stared hard at the floor. I heard his footsteps move towards the door as I began to sigh with relief. My eyes widened as I heard the door close and lock. The next thing I knew my head was being slammed against the desk as I tried to hold back tears, but it was getting a lot harder to not break down._

_Finally I let out a sob as I was grabbed by the neck. My dad's hand started to tighten as I grabbed at his hands and tried to pull them off, but he was too strong. My air way was cut off as I tried to scream. As I opened my mouth I was punched in the nose and I heard something crack._

_He tossed me onto my bed as blood dripped out of my nose. I tried to hold it but he forced one arm behind my back and held one by my wrist. He pulled out his lighter and held it under my palm. Before I could scream he pressed a pillow over my face as I began to kick frantically, the pain shooting from my palm and up my arm._

_Removing the pillow he grabbed my neck once more and lifted me into a sitting position. He turned my head in the direction of my wrist as he turned my arm over. Kneeling on my palm with his knee, he used his free left hand to reach into his pocket and pull out a switchblade. Sobs escaped my throat as he dragged the blade across my skin. A thin line of blood seeped out as he shoved me hard. He punched me in the side for good measure before he walked to the door and opened it._

"_You tell anyone and I'll hurt the kid," He growled before he slammed the door shut. I glanced at the clock and saw that it was 11:15._

'_Please god. Let me survive this night.'_

**-End Flashback (Normal POV)-**

"Hey chica, it's lunchtime," Magnet said as he squatted by Mack's hole. She looked up at him as she shaded her eyes with her glove. Sighing, she placed a foot on the wall in front of her and pushed off, doing a back flip. She pushed off the other wall and landed on her feet in front of him. He had a look of awe on her face but she ignored it as she went to get in line behind Glare. She pulled off her fingerless gloves and stuck them in her cargo pockets as she yawned.

"You got any blisters yet?" X-Ray asked as he inspected her hands. "Hey girl, your wrists are bleeding." Mack pulled back her hand as she shot him a death glare. She then turned her attention to the bandages that were on her wrists. Sure enough, blood had soaked through the bandages on her wrists. She moved it around and hissed in pain when she felt the wounds reopen.

"Damn it!" She growled to herself as she looked up into Dr. Pendanski's smiling face.

"How's your hole coming along, Mackenzie?" He questioned as he handed her a sack lunch.

"I'm almost done. I have about 1 ½ to 2 feet left," she responded as her fingers twitched as she felt the blood drip down her palms.

"That's good. Do you need anymore water or anything? If you need it, just let me know." He stated, the smile never leaving his face. Mack eyed him suspiciously before she smirked and said in a cold voice. "I need you to go back to your tent and take the rest of the crack you're on so you can stop smiling at me like that and treating me like a weak little girly girl…oh. I'm sorry, I just described you. Don't take offense to that."

The boys howled with laughter as Mack went back to her hole. She sat at the edge with her feet in the hole before she brought up her wrists to her face. She slowly unwrapped the bandages to inspect the damage. The cuts on her wrists were bleeding freely and she used the rest of the bandages to sop up and stop the rest of the bleeding.

"What happened to you?" Zigzag asked as he sat down next to her.

"Oh, I just hurt myself with the shovel," she lied smoothly as she balled up the bandages ad stuck it in her pocket.

"Mind if I try something?" He questioned. She just shook her head as he told her to hold out her arms. She did so as he ripped the hem of his shirt and started to wrap them around her wrists tightly. Once he was finished she flexed her wrists to check if she would bleed again.

"Thanks dude," she said with a small smile.

"The cold hearted one smiles!" He exclaimed in surprise as a smile tugged at his lips. "You know for twins, you two aren't much a like," he stated as he nodded in Glare's direction as he talked to Shorty by their holes.

"We get that a lot. People automatically think that we have to act the same. They don't understand that we can be twins but can be completely different at the same time."

He nodded in understanding before he took a bite out of his apple. They ate the rest of their lunch in silence before they went back to their holes. The rest of the time the boys started to talk about their homes and their families to pass the time. Zero was done in the next hour. He spat into his hole and started to drag his shovel back towards the Camp.

"He's all ready done!?" Shorty's voice came from her hole.

"He's the fastest digger out of all of us," Twitch told her as he drummed his fingers on the shaft of the shovel.

"He's a mole, I think he eats the dirt," Squid said in a serious voice.

"Moles don't eat dirt," X-Ray pointed out.

That soon got the boys into an argument on whether or not worms moles eat dirt. _'Boys and their immature arguments. How the hell will I survive this?'_ Mack asked herself as she pulled her fingerless gloves back on and continued digging. As the day went on the boys slowly started to finish digging. It was X-Ray, then Magnet, then Zigzag and Squid, then Twitch, then Shorty, Mack and Glare, then Caveman.

As the twins started to cross the lake back to the Camp they were interrupted by a shout. The twins turned around and Matt's jaw dropped like a trap door as a girl walked over to them, a snow blond haired boy in tow. The girl's eyes were flashing dangerously and Mack sighed as she leaned against her shovel as she asked, "What do you want?"

"We heard that there were other twins in this Camp and we wanted to see if the suspicions are true," the boy said as he slapped a hand over the girls' mouth before she could say anything. "This is SpitFire and I'm Smirk."

"I wonder how you got the name SpitFire," Mack muttered sarcastically. SpitFire made a face but turned to Glare with a raised eyebrow.

"You ok, dude?" She questioned. He nodded and closed his mouth as a sheepish grin crossed his face.

"I'm Glare and this is–" Matt started.

"Yo Glare! Icy! We're headed to the Wreck Room!" Zigzag called.

"And this is Icy," he finished.

"We were headed to the Wreck Room ourselves. You up for a game of pool?" SpitFire asked, her eyes trailing over to Mack aka Icy, She noticed a look of challenge in SpitFire's eyes and a smirk crossed her face.

"You're on. Get ready to lose, SpitFire," she said as she brought her shovel up to her shoulder and whirled around, almost hitting them with the blade.

"Oh no she didn't!" SpitFire growled and raced after the girl.

"I hate it when she's like this." Smirk groaned.

"You're not the only one. Let's hurry before they rip each others eyes out," Glare suggested before they ran after their sisters. Once they got to the Wreck Room, panting, they noticed that there was a crowd around their sisters as they played pool. They shoved through the crowd and watched their sisters' frustrated faces as they played. Finally, the eight ball was left and Icy missed her shot. SpitFire aimed and hit the cue ball, sinking the eight ball.

"You owe me shower tokens," SpitFire said as Icy glared at her.

"Way to go, girl," an extremely muscular boy said as he patter SpitFire on the shoulder. The grip on SpitFire's stick tightened before she swung it around. There was a loud cracking sound as it connected with his head and broke in half as the boy fell to the floor.

"We're in deep shit," Squid muttered as blood started to come out of the boy's head.

"You stay here and make sure he's ok, and I'll just–" Icy dropped her pool stick and started a mad dash towards the door. Right as she opened it Mr. Sir walked in. He took one look at the boy and the frightened look on her face. An evil smile crossed his face as he said, "Follow me. I think a visit to the Warden is in order."

'_What the fuck!? I'm in trouble and I didn't even do anything wrong!' _Icy asked in disbelief.

"She's not coming back anytime soon," Magnet said as he shook his head slowly.

-------------------------

"What do you want Mr. Sir?" The Warden demanded as she opened her front door.

"This here girl has caused some trouble. I heard shouting coming from the Wreck Room so I went to look. This girl here attacked a kid from A-Tent. He was bleeding pretty badly so I brought her here for you to deal with," he responded.

"What the hell gives you the idea that _I_ hurt that dumbass?" Icy demanded. "Although he probably did deserve it," she added under her breath.

"Mr. Sir, you brought her here because you can't handle a girl?" The Warden asked slowly.

"Well, I just thought–"

"Excuse me? It seems to me that you didn't think at all if you can't even give her a proper punishment."

"But I didn't even do anything!" Icy growled.

"Just like you didn't stab that little kid in the grocery store?" The Warden shot back. A pang of guilt surged through Icy's body as she fell silent.

"That was an accident," she hissed.

"Just like you were sent here by accident."

Icy stayed quiet as she glared at the floor, her hands balled into fists. Her fists began to shake as blood roared in her ears and they drowned out The Warden's and Mr. Sir's words as she tried to keep her anger in check. She was finally able to leave the Warden's cabin with a cleaning punishment: she had to clean the dishes everyday for the next two weeks. When she told the boys of the tent her punishment they cringed at the harshness of the punishment.

"It could be worse," Caveman told her.

"How can anything be worse than having to clean the dishes?" Icy asked him.

"You could have had to wash Pit's clothes for him," Squid responded as he started to laugh. The other boys laughed along with him as Armpit shoved him off of his cot. He landed on the ground with a thud and that got Armpit laughing.

"All right boys, lights out. Time to go back to your tent girls," Dr. Pendanski said as he walked in.

"Night guys," Shorty said as she stretched and yawned.

"Night," they chorused as the girls left.

"Hey Glare, you never told us why you were sent here exactly," X-Ray said as they climbed into their cots.

"That's because I didn't do anything." He responded as he rested his head on a pillow.

"We were all sent here for a reason."

"I know. But believe it or not, I'm the one who's innocent."


	5. Abuse of the Heart

**A/N: This eventually follows the normal Holes plot but I changed it a little bit to make it better.**

**Chapter Five-Abuse of the Heart**

"Am I dead?" Shorty's soft voice asked from the darkness the next morning.

"No," Icy responded. "Why?"

"Because the only way I can feel pain like this is if I'm dead."

Despite the soreness in her abdomen, Icy laughed as she rolled over in her cot and pushed herself up to a sitting position. She held that position as she waited for the pain to fade. Yawning, she and Shorty changed clothes and headed to the Mess Hall. They went through the line and sat down at their table. Shorty ate her cereal while Icy watched with half open eyes. Once she was finished Icy gave Shorty hers.

"You know, you're going to have to eat something to keep your strength and your immune system up," Shorty pointed out as she took a sip of orange juice.

"How're you ladies feelin' today?" Zigzag asked as the rest of D-Tent sat down.

"Sore," Icy mumbled as she rested her forehead on the table.

"Hey Ice, is there something wrong with your brother?" Caveman asked as he jerked his thumb in Glare's direction. Icy lifted her head and saw him playing with his spoon and he had a distant look on his face.

"My guess is he has a crush," Shorty answered simply as she let spoon fall back into her ceral.

"I do not!" Glare protested as he looked in her direction.

"We've been together for as long as I can remember. I think I can tell by now when you have a crush on someone. The question is, when are you going to tell her?"

"I don't like SpitFire!" Glare growled through clenched teeth as his face turned a light shade of red.

"She wasn't the person I was talking about; I was talking about a girl in general. But thanks for filling in the blank, that _proves_ you like her now," Shorty said with a smirk as her words sunk in and Glare's mouth dropped open while the guys laughed.

"How do you know all this?" Squid asked.

"I'm just smart like that." Short responded with a shrug as she lowered her eyes to her cereal. They shot back up and narrowed as she looked towards the door. "Ice, look at the new guy."

"Why?" Icy asked without lifting her head.

"Just do it."

Sighing, Icy lifted her head and turned around. Her eyes widened when they fell on the boy and she jumped up from the table. She grasped the boy by the arm and dragged him out of the Mess Hall.

"Who was that and how does Icy know him?" Magnet questioned. Shorty hesitated as she looked at Glare but responded slowly, "That's Crimson, and...He's Icy's boyfriend."

The boys' eyebrows rose while Glare got an angry look on his face. He just slammed his spoon into his cereal, ignoring the milk that went shooting out in different directions.

"How come you never told me that?" He yelled at Shorty.

"You never asked," she replied simply. "I don't have to tell you every girl thing that I hear from her. You obviously don't want to hear about her having to go through the thing every month and–"

"Ew! Stop!" Glare said as he made a face. "But how come she never told _me?_ I'm her twin, we always tell each other everything."

"Because she knew you'd act this way." Shorty looked every girl in the eye and said in a firm voice. "I want all of you to promise me right now…what ever happens, she can handle things herself."

"But what can-?" Twitch started.

"Just promise!" Shorty snapped before she got up from the table and went outside. She found her sister standing by the Wreck Room holding her arms tight in both hands. Looking at her face from the front she saw that a shiner was beginning to form around her eye.

"I can handle it," Icy whispered as she ruffled her sister's hair.

"Are you sure?"

"I handled it before. I can do it now."

"I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I know. I love you too."

Shorty just nodded as she watched her sister wipe the blood from the cut on her arm. She stayed by her side as they got their shovels and started to make their way across the lake. D-Tent noticed the forming bruise and asked her about it, she told them she hit her face when she was leaving the tent. Glare was suspicious, but he didn't say anything about it.

They dug in silence as the sun started to rise. It was all ready hot and the heat seemed to bother Shorty more than usual. She seemed frustrated and was in a bad mood. She let out a loud curse when her shovel dropped on her foot when she bent down to pick something up. She rubbed away the dirt and saw the letters _KB_ on it in a heart.

She closed her eyes as she tried to figure out where she saw something like that when a shadow fell over her. She looked up and smiled when Squid dropped into her hole. She discreetly put the object in her pocket as he looked at her with a look of seriousness, something she has never seen on his face.

"What is it, Squiddy?" She asked as she reached for her shovel. "You in trouble with the Warden?"

"No, I need to ask you about…Icy's boyfriend." Shorty noticed that it seemed hard for him to get the last words out of his mouth.

"Before I answer any questions, I need some payment for my advice to you," she said in a business-like tone.

"Which is?" Squid questioned.

"You help me with my hole," Shorty responded. "I'm just a kid, it's hard enough for me as it is. It's harder to get out when your palms are bleeding from blisters that opened. So, you help me dig, I'll help you with anything. Deal?" Squid chewed on his toothpick as he thought about it, then reached out and shook her hand t seal the deal. "You want information on Crimson? He's a bad dude. She went out with him about…two months before we were sent here. She'd sneak out at night to see him. Glare didn't know, but she trusted me with that information. I think he pulled her into something bad because she started to change. And then…I saw the scars and the bruises one day. And I saw another one today. I…I think he hits her."

"Why didn't you do anything about it?" Squid asked as he took a shovel of dirt and flung it over his head.

"She said she had it under control. I never believed her, but I trust her. She can get us out of any trouble." Shorty laughed a little before she said, "But this time was the exception."

"Why were you guys sent here exactly?"

"I don't know. I didn't do anything to send us here. I just came because I had no parents to take care of me and–" Shorty stopped in midsentence as her eyes widened. Squid turned around and saw her nervously tapping her fingers on her shovel shaft.

"You're orphans?" He asked in a quiet voice. Shorty nodded and wiped away a tear. "But your mom and dad-?"

"Dead and gone. Mom died when I was little, about when I was three, and we lived in….I don't remember the name. But I remember that night very well."

**-Flashback-**

_Three-year-old Max clutched onto Matt's ten-year-old frame as they frantically tried to run out of their house. Smoke was everywhere and thunder crashed all around them as lightning lit up the dark house. The smell of something burning caught his nose as heat came up to Matt's back. He turned and saw that the fire had trapped him and Max into their bedroom. Picking up the crying girl, Matt backed up to the window._

"_Where's Mackie?" Max cried as she held onto Matt tighter._

"_I don't know. I think she went to help mom," Matt responded._

"_Mattie, I'm scared," Max whimpered as tears fell down her face._

"_I know. Don't worry, we'll be fine. We'll get out of here."_

_Matt looked out the window and saw the storm raging outside. It seemed to match the instincts and emotions that were raging through his body. He pulled open the window and looked down to see people running around and screaming._

"_Hold on tight Max. Whatever happens, don't let go of me. All right?" Matt asked his little sister._

"_Yes Mattie," she responded, her eyes wide with fear._

_Matt looked down at the ground once more. It was too high to jump out and it looked as though no one would try and get them. Taking a deep breath, Matt turned and ran right at the flames, chocking on the smoke. He heard Max's screams as he tried to jump over the flames, but they licked at the bottom of his shirt and his legs. He smelt burning skin but ignored it and the pain as he struggled to get out of the house. He fell down half of the steps before he reached the front door. He opened it and rushed out into the rain._

_The rain cooled his skin as he dropped to the ground, still holding onto his sister. He rolled onto his back and let her go as he cried out from the stinging of his burns. Max laid down next to him and looked back at the house, screaming for her older sister and her mother._

"_GET BACK!" A firefighter yelled as he waved his arms and pushed people out of the way of the house. "I SAID GET BACK! THERE'S A GAS LEAK! SHE'S GOING TO BLOW!"_

_Despite the pain, Matt sat up and started to drag his desperate sister across the street. Once he got her there there was a deafening explosion and he felt intense heat. Some dirt and rocks hit him as the house engulfed in more flames and fell. He stared in shock at the house that was gone. The house that he had been in only minutes before, just going to check on his sleeping sister when the fire sprang up._

"_No!" Max whispered as she looked for something. Matt knew what she was looking for and he didn't want to tell her that he didn't see her. He didn't want to think that…_

"_Matt? Max? Is that you?"_

_Matt and Max looked around as they heard a familiar voice._

"_Up here."_

_Looking up, Matt and Max both sighed with relief when they saw their sister sitting in the tree with her knees brought up to her chest._

"_I'm so glad you're ok!" Matt said as he sighed with relief._

"_Where's mommy?" Max asked._

"_She's gone," Mack whispered. "It's my fault that she's gone. She won't come back. Ever. She's gone. It's my fault. It's my fault." Max burst out crying, her tears mixed with the rain as Matt looked back and forth between his emotionally broken sisters._

"_I'm sure it's not your fault. Now come on down," Matt said gently._

"_I'll just kill you too."_

"_But you didn't kill mom."_

"_it's all my fault. All my fault."_

"_NO IT"S NOT!"_

"_YES IT IS! IT"S MY FAULT SHE"S GONE! MY FAULT! MY FAULT!"_

**-End Flashback-**

"I'm sorry Shorty," Squid said softly as he hugged the little girl.

"Don't be, it's in the past. I think that's what made Icy turn…well, icy. So if she's mean to you for no reason, it's not because she has her…thing, it's because she was emotionally scared."

"Why don't you tell Glare that Crimson hits Icy?"

"Because I need proof. I'm just a kid, I can't go accusing people for hitting my sister without proof."

"Proof of what?" Armpit asked as he walked by Shorty's hole. "And what're you doing in her hole?"

"We're just talking Pit, go mind your own goddamn business," Squid snapped. Armpit just shrugged and started to walk over to his hole.

"Not used to people seeing you as a softy, eh?" Shorty asked with a wide grin once he turned around.

"Shut up." He knew it was a weak comeback, but he wasn't in the mood to fight with an eight-year-old. He was thinking about what it was like when he was keeping a secret from D-Tent when he first arrived.

"_Listen Alan," X-Ray said as he marched up to him in the Wreck Room. "We of D-Tent are like a big family. And you keeping a secret from us is hurting not only you, but you're family. When one of us hurts, we all hurt. But we always pull through together like the family we are."_

"You're actually worried about my sister," Shorty noticed as she raised an eyebrow. "Good god, Squid actually likes my sister."

"What!? I never said-"

"Eyes are the window to the soul, Squid. And right now, I can see concern and some sort of affection behind them. Don't worry, we'll make sure she stays safe."

---------------------------------

**-Icy's POV-**

"So…how've you been?" I questioned as Crimson and I began to walk back to the Wreck Room. He was an unbelievably fast digger and he decided to wait for me. Although he was in C-Tent, he ignored the angry looks on the other guys' faces and waited faithfully. I absentmindedly played with the bandages that were on my wrists.

"Lonely without you," he responded with a charming smile as he looped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

"I would figure that you'd move on-"

"Never Cascade, you're the only girl for me." He leaned over to kiss my cheek but I pushed him away.

"That's not my name," I stated bluntly. "It's Icy."

"Icy? Did those retards in your tent name you that?" He asked with a scoff.

"They aren't retards," I mumbled. "They're the only friends I've got."

"What about me?" Crimson demanded, his eyes flashing dangerously. "I'm your boyfriend! You don't need any other guy friends. You can only have me!"

"You can't tell me who I can and can't be friends with!" I hissed as I glared at him.

"Did your sister tell you that? You're still getting advice from that baby shrimp?"

"Leave my sister out of this, bastard!"

I staggered back as I held my jaw and I heard the shovels clattering on the ground. Crimson lowered his fist and grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. He was stronger than most people I knew and he could lift me off of the ground with ease. I tried to pry his hands off of my collar but he wouldn't budge. He growled, "This is what I get for having a girlfriend. You never even had written me! Never gave me a sign as to you were still alive! I thought that we would get back together soon, but no, these sons of bitches turned you against me! What did I do to deserve this? All I ever did was love you!" He was screaming now and I tried to block my ears but I had to free myself first. "You told me you would NEVER betray me!"

"I didn't betray you!" I spat angrily.

"Oh really, then what do you call it when your girlfriend gets sent to an all boys camp?"

"I didn't get sent her on porpoise! The judge never gave me a choice!"

"Like that's supposed to make a difference!" Crimson angrily threw me to the ground and I landed on my back hard. He kicked me in the side and I rolled over and curled into a ball as I held my side. That only gave him the opportunity to kick me hard in the back. "How did you get caught? I thought you were smarter than that, but you're NOT!"

I reached out blindly as Crimson continued his reign on my back. It hurt to move a little as I continued to reach. I cried out in pain as Crimson brought his foot down on my hand and twisted his heel on my fingers. The weight was suddenly lifted and I heard metal slamming against skull before I heard a thud.

"Icy…Ice, are you all right?"

'_Boy that's a dumb question. I'm lying here on the ground in pain and the person asks if I'm ok. The only person that question can belong to is Squid.'_

"I thought…I told you…I could handle it," I whispered to Shorty as she dropped down to my side.

"And I thought I told you I didn't want you to get hurt," she countered as she wiped tears from her face.

"Does Glare-?"

"Yeah, he knows. They all do."

"…Thank you Shorty."

"For what. I betrayed your trust."

"I'm thanking you _for_ betraying my trust. I'm so dense sometimes I can't see when I need help. I just thought if I could hold onto the one person that loves me…" I let my voice trail off as I looked into her green and blue eyes.

"Glare and I both love you. Don't forget that."

I nodded as a smile crossed her face. She looked up and said, "Let's get her back to the tent and then tell Pendanski. I'm sure he'll know what to do." I could feel myself being lifted into arms as pain shot down my back one more and I groaned.

"You'll be fine Icy," Squid said as he looked down at me. "If he ever tries to hurt you again, D-Tent will be there for you." I stayed silent as he and Shorty continued the walk back to the tent. I looked at Glare as we passed the showers, hung my head and whispered, "I'm sorry."


	6. Shorty’s Sickness, Icy’s Apology

**Chapter Six-Shorty's Sickness, Icy's Apology**

"Glare," Shorty whispered that night. He rolled over in his bed and let out a breath as he continued to sleep. "Glare!" Shorty made a face when she heard Armpit's snore and held her nose when his scent invaded her nostrils. "Glare, WAKE UP!" She hissed in a loud voice as she shoved him.

"What is it?" He whispered sleepily as he rubbed his eyes and turned to face her. "Why aren't you sleeping?"

"I need to show you something I found yesterday."

"Can't it wait till morning."

"No. It's important!"

"When isn't something important to you?"

"Never."

"All right, all right. I'm up," Glare said with a yawn as he followed his sister out of the tent. Glancing at his watch, he read the light up face and saw that it was twelve thirty. Yawning again, he followed her into her tent and saw Icy leaning against the wall, wincing slightly as her pen skidded across paper. "You all right?" He asked his twin softly. She paused her writing before she continued.

"She'll be fine. I promise," Shorty said as she reached into her crate and pulled out a box. She lifted the lid and pulled out a small gold dirty object. "I found this yesterday while I was digging. I know I've seen something likes this before, but I can't place my finger on it. In the heart it has the letters K and B."

Glare looked up at Shorty in surprise. He opened his mouth and began to ask, "But how did you-?"

"I'm a fast learner," Shorty interrupted. "I asked Icy about it but, she doesn't talk to me. I think she's seen something like this though. When I asked, her eyes lit up in a way."

"What do you think it was doing in the ground?"

"We have to figure out what it is first. _Only then_ can we find out its purpose of being buried."

"All right…can I go back to bed now?"

"Go ahead. I'll stay up with Icy and get you if anything's wrong."

"'Night Shorty."

"'Night Glare."

The rest of the night seemed to go by too fast for Shorty. She barely got any sleep because she heard Icy whimpering and tossing and turning as she dreamt. Yawning, Shorty turned her feet until they were dangling off of the bed. She stood up as a wave of dizziness washed over her. She held her head and fell back waiting for the dizziness to pass. Once it did she shook her head and pulled on her boots.

"Well if it isn't Little Miss Sunshine," Glare said as he grinned and ruffled his little sister's hair.

"I figured you wouldn't get much sleep," Shorty said with a yawn as she leaned against him as they began their walk to the Mess Hall.

"I slept pretty well, actually," he said in amazement as he placed his hand on his sister's shoulder.

"Hey Glare, hey Shorty. How's Icy?" SpitFire asked as she and Smirk walked up to them.

"She isn't doing that well," Shorty responded as she looked up at them. "She won't talk to me or Glare and all she does is either draw in her sketch pad or write in her notebook. I don't think she's eating either. I mean, she never ate that much before, who could blame her. But now she doesn't leave the tent, I mean besides the injuries."

"I see. Do you know when she'll feel better?" Smirk questioned as he opened the door to the Mess Hall.

"Had to say," Shorty responded as they passed people of the other tents. "Her wounds will be fine in about two days. But she'll probably stay in bed from the emotional pain."

"What about her punishment?" SpitFire asked.

"I guess one of us will have to take over for her," Glare responded as he slid his tray across the metal holder in front of the food.

"I'll do it for her," SpitFire suggested.

"No, I don't want you to get too tired from that and digging," Glare said as he shook his head. "But thanks for the offer."

"Anytime dude," SpitFire responded as she punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Spit, we gotta go. Our tent is getting mad," Smirk said as he tugged on her arm lightly.

"Whatever," she said as she shook her head. "See ya Shorty. I'll see you around, Glare."

Glare nodded towards her and picked up his tray. He looked down to see a knowing smile on Shorty's face. He stared at her for a couple more seconds before asking, "What?"

"You so like her," was all Shorty replied as she put her tray onto the table and hopped up onto the seat. "When're you going to ask her out?"

"Short, we're in a DESERT! Where can we go?" Glare asked as he motioned around himself.

"How's Icy?" X-Ray asked as D-Tent sat down at the table.

"Her condition hasn't improved. At least not that I can see," Shorty responded in a sad voice.

"We should do something for her," Caveman suggested. "My friends at school always gave me cards when I was sick."

"Where are we going to find paper out here?" Armpit questioned.

"I could get some from Mr. Sir's office," Magnet suggested.

"B-but what if he catches you?" Twitch asked as he drummed his fingers on the table.

"I've never gotten caught yet."

"Oh yeah, then how did you get sent here?" Squid asked with a smirk. Magnet glared while Squid just laughed. Shorty giggled as she lifted the spoon of cereal up to her mouth.

"Don't eat that, Shorty," Zigzag told her in a warning voice.

"Why not?" Shorty asked in confusion.

"Something's been tampered with that," he responded seriously, "Aliens. I think they did something to it."

"Ziggy, aliens aren't real," Shorty said slowly as if speaking to a kinder gardener.

"There is something wrong with that bowl of cereal. You shouldn't eat it," he said, ignoring her. 'I'm just looking out for you."

"I have an older brother and an older sister to do that for me," Shorty said kindly. "But thanks anyway." She brought the spoon up to her lips but dropped it as she started to cough.

"You all right?" Zero asked her quietly. Everyone at the table stopped talking.

"You got Zero to talk!" Squid said in amazement, running a hand through his brown hair.

"Yeah, what else can you do Zero?" Armpit asked as pairs of eyes looked at him intently. He just kept his eyes on Shorty before she responded quietly, "Yeah Zero, I'm fine."

He nodded and continued eating. Gradually, the others did the same. As Shorty ate her cereal she noticed Zigzag giving her a weird look. She dismissed it and finished her cereal and juice. She then got up from the table and held it as everything before he started to sway. She gripped the table tightly until she regained her balance and started to walk out the door.

"You all right, Shorty? You're looking a little pale," Squid said as he walked next to her.

"Why so concerned?" Shorty asked as she rubbed her eyes. "I don't still remind you of your sister, do I?" He just nodded as she sighed and said, "Write her all ready. That's what I would've done if I was older and I had a little sister I missed."

"It's complicated," he sighed.

"We went over this before. The only way she'd hate you is if you never wrote her at all."

Squid stopped walking to grab his shovel and he handed one to her. She took the shovel and staggered a little before following him.

"I'm going to tell you something I don't want repeated, all right?" Squid asked her.

"You know you can trust me," she said as she quickened her steps to walk next to him. The shovel felt heavier to her than usual. So heavy…

"Back at my place my mom abused my sister and I," he told her. "I took all of the beatings to make sure that she wouldn't get hurt. My sister looked up to me and I always made sure she was safe so she could live a better life. Eventually, I got tired of it all. My dad wasn't home, he left when I was only four, and my mom drank too much and took drugs. I guess I got tired of it all and tried to get away. So, I left hours at a time and they gradually turned to nights. The whole time I was robbing houses, graffiti-ing, and I was in a gang at the time so I kept getting into fights." As Squid talked Shorty staggered a little but regained her balance as she shook her head to make the headache she was getting to go away. The sun that was starting to rise felt hotter to her as sweat dripped off of her forehead. "One day, I got caught and was sent straight here because I didn't have anyone to defend me in court." He looked down at her and asked, "Are you sure you're ok?" He asked as he stopped at a place to start digging.

"Yeah. I'm fine," she responded. "Just trying to figure out SpitFire's, Icy's, and my shower problems." It wasn't a complete lie. She's been trying to figure that out ever since they got there, which wasn't really that long ago. "I guess we can just get some of you guys to make sure no one looks." She added as she stomped on the end of her shovel and began to dig. Squid nodded as he pulled his white do rag over his head and tied it over his hair. He then pulled on his brown cap and, after shooting one last glance at Shorty, began to dig.

Soon the sun came up and the heat rose, making some of the guys take off their shirts to stay cooler. Max wasn't fazed by it, she's seen her brother like that working in the yard plenty of times. She wasn't like a lot of the sisters who get nervous around their brothers when they were half naked. Besides, it wasn't like she was able to focus. Everything around her was spinning…

"Shorty, I've been calling you for the last ten minutes. It's lunch time," Zigzag said as he reached down and pulled her out with ease. "What've you been doing the whole time? It looks like you barely dug your hole."

"I guess I just spaced out," she replied softly as she ran a hand across her sweaty face and forced a smile.

"You aren't looking too hot," he said as he inspected her.

"I could say the same to you," she shot back with a small smile. Zigzag laughed at her joke as she took a bag lunch and went back to her hole. She stared out across the dry lake and everything seemed to shimmer. She blinked a couple of times to clear her visions but everything swirled and swayed. Sweat dripped down her face as her legs shook as she tried to stand. No sound came out of her mouth as she tried to call out to her brother. She let out a small, "…help…" before she fell onto her side.

Hearing a soft thud, Zero looked up and saw Shorty collapsed on the ground. He got out of his hole and rushed over to her. He dropped down by her side and checked for her pulse. He placed his palm on her forehead and pulled it away and shouted, "Glare! Glare, get over here!" Looking up, Glare's mouth fell open before he and the rest of D-Tent ran over to his sister.

"Shorty! Shorty, wake up. C'mon, wake up," Glare said as he shook her.

"That aint gonna work man," Twitch said as he held out his arm. "She's sick."

"How do you know?" Magnet asked.

"Pale face, sweating, shivering slightly, swaying, and dizziness. Those are the signs," Caveman responded as he walked to his hole, grabbed his canteen, and walked back. "Squid, could I have your do rag please?"

"Why?" Squid demanded.

"For a rag. We need to keep her fever down or she'll die," he responded as he held out his hand. Squid pulled off his hat and united his do rag before handing it to him. Caveman soaked it in his water before tying it around her forehead.

Shorty muttered, "Too hot…" as it connected with her skin.

"Someone needs to get Pendanski," Zero told them.

"No, it's faster if someone takes her back to her tent themselves," Caveman said as he shook his head.

"I'll go-" Glare started.

"No, let me," Squid interrupted. The boys of D-Tent looked at him in shock. They didn't think it was possible for Squid to have his sensitive moments.

"Do you have a soft spot for the Montgomery girls or something?" Magnet asked with a teasing smile.

"Man, shut up!" Squid snapped as he lifted the girl's body with ease. He turned on his heel and began to walk back towards the tents. No one noticed something shiny falling out of Shorty's pocket, except Caveman. He picked it up and, after inspecting it, he placed it in his pocket.

-----------------------------------------------------

Icy turned her head when she heard a ruffling at the tent flap and her eyes widened slightly when she saw Squid coming in carrying Shorty's limp body. He laid her down on the bed and pulled off her boots before pulling her scratchy sheet up to her neck.

"What happened?"

Icy's voice was so soft Squid didn't know she even said anything until he turned around and saw that she was looking at her sister intently.

"She's sick, we don't know what caused it though," he responded.

"It was probably Twist or Perv or one of those people," she said in the same soft voice as she closed the notebook she was writing in. She turned so her feet was hanging off the side of the bed before she slowly stood. She took a step and waited a couple of seconds before taking another step and starting to make her way to her sister. She stumbled and Squid reached out his arms and caught her.

"You all right?" He asked as he helped her stand. She looked up into his eyes and blinked as her face turned red before replying, "I'm fine. I need to check on Shorty." Squid let her go and she finally dropped down next to Shorty's side.

"Shorty…Shorty, listen to me," Icy said gently as she pushed her black hair away from her face. Shorty groaned but whispered, "I'm listening."

"The last time this happened, what did you have us give you?"

"uhhh…too hot...medicine…now…"

"I know, I know. But tell me the name of the medicine."

"What's this I hear about someone being sick?" Dr. Pendanski asked as he entered the tent.

"It's my sister. She has a huge fever and a headache," Icy responded from her position on the floor. "Help her." She had a hint of urgency in her voice and Squid saw a hint of fear behind her eyes.

"I will help her, don't worry," Dr. Pendanski said as he smiled. Icy made a face but didn't say anything. She got to her feet and started to shuffle her way out of the tent. "Where are you going?"

"I'd rather not breathe in whatever crack you're inhaling to make you all perky like that," she responded without turning around. "I'm not the perky type of person."

She made it down the steps of her tent and was starting to make her way to the Wreck Room when Squid ran after her.

"Hey Icy, wait up."

"Waddya want?" She growled as she continued her shuffle, trying to ignore the pain in her legs.

"Back in the tent, when you told Pendanski to help her you sounded scared."

"Check your ears, Fish Boy. I wasn't scared."

"Then why did I see fear behind your eyes?"

Icy stopped her shuffled and crossed her arms over her chest as she asked, "Why were you looking at my eye sin the first place? Were you sent here for stalking someone? Cuz that's what it seems like you're doing to me."

"At least answer my question, has she been this sick before?"

"…why do you care so much about what happens to Shorty anyway?"

"Because she remindes me of my sister, who could be dead right now because of me."

Icy gave him a hard look before responding, "I'm sorry to hear that. A couple of years ago Shorty fell ill and she almost died from a common cold. "She paused to take a shaky breath before continuing. "We didn't know and up to this day we don't know what's wrong with her or what caused her immune system to become this weak. Since she's so fragile we make sure that she's more healthy than we are."

"That explains why you don't eat," Squid said as he nodded in understanding. "I didn't think you'd ever become an anorexic." He added as a joke.

Icy punched him in the arm and smirked as he rubbed and muttered, "For a girl, you're pretty strong."

"Don't forget that unless you want your balls rolling on the ground."

"How do you do that?" Squid asked suddenly.

"Do what?" Icy questioned.

"Keep going on after the terrible things that happened in your life."

"…Because the terrible things that happen in my life keep coming and never stop."


	7. The Gold Tube

**Chapter Seven-The Gold Tube**

"How're ya holding up, man?" Zigzag asked Glare as they walked towards the lake again. Glare sighed as he shifted his shovel on his shoulder and responded, "I'm holding up ok. But it feels weird not having my sisters by my side. I mean, they're always there."

"Well, now you're a free man. Go live life on your own for once. By what you're telling me, it's like you miss being by yourself."

Glare remained silent as they continued walking towards the lake. _'I have never been apart from them. This feels so weird. I mean, they're still here but I don't feel secure without them walking right next to me.'_

"Penny for your thoughts," a voice said at the same time to fingers prodded him in the side. He jumped forward as Smirk and SpitFire burst out laughing.

"Don't do that," Glare grumbled as he picked up his shovel.

"What's got your boxers in a bunch?" SpitFire asked as they walked next to him.

"Uh, maybe the fact that one sister is sick and one sister doesn't show any emotion at all!"

"Chill out, dude," Smirk said as he raised his hands as if in self defense. "I went through the same thing when SpitFire here went to the hospital for pneumonia."

Glare didn't respond as he quickened his pace. He really wasn't in the mood to talk, let alone talk to two people who didn't seem to know what was actually running through his head. He had a lot of anger to release; he didn't know how he got it. All too soon he was back on the lake. He'd lost track of how long they have been there and how many holes he had dug.

He stopped and realized a change since his stay at the camp. He was used to the heat, although it still got a little bit hotter each day. His skinned was tanned and his muscles were developing. Despite wearing gloves, his skin got tougher so it didn't hurt to the shovel. He slammed the shovel blade into the ground and imagined it was Crimson's face. He was sent to an actually prison. The Warden made him go so he wouldn't hurt anymore of her 'precious' diggers.

After a while he stopped to get a drink from his canteen and looked up at the sky. A cloud was floating there and he, along with the other boys, wished that it would move in front of the sun. _'It wouldn't make much difference. The cloud is too small to make shade. And the Warden owns the shade anyway.'_ His hole was waist deep when it happened.

He raised his head when he heard commotion coming from the other tentmates. They were crowding around Caveman's hole. Making a questioning face, he pulled himself out of his hole and walked over to the group, just as Squid and X-Ray dropped into Caveman's hole.

"What you got there, Caveman?" Magnet asked him.

"Nothing, just, uh…I think I might've found something."

Glare's eyes widened when he saw the gold tube in his hand. _'That's what Shorty showed me earlier. Caveman must've stolen it. But where have I seen it before?'_

"Is it another fossil?" Twitch asked with a laugh.

"No, I'm not sure what it is."

"Lemme see," Zigzag said as he held out his hand.

"It kind of looks like a shotgun shell." Twitch said thoughtfully.

"Naw man, it's too skinny to be a shotgun shell," Squid said, taking the toothpick out of the corner of his mouth.

"You see that little heart? It has the initials KB," Caveman pointed out.

"Aww yeah, that belongs to Keith Beranger." Zigzag said with a nod.

"Man, who's that?" Armpit asked.

"He was in my math class."

"Oh yeah, Zig, that belongs to him," Magnet said as he rolled his eyes and took the tube from him.

"Oh well, I'll show it to Mom and see what he thinks. Maybe I'll get the day off," X-Ray said with a shrug. At the words 'day off' Glare's face brightened. _'If I can get that tube from him than I can have a day off and spend time with my sisters. Maybe we can figure out what it is together. It may get us a ticket out of here.'_

"What!?" No, your hole's almost done!" Caveman exclaimed as the guys began to walk to their holes.

"Yeah, so?" X-Ray demanded.

"So why don't you wait to show him tomorrow? You can pretend you found it that morning so you can get the whole day off."

"Good thinking Caveman," X-Ray said with a grin.

"You're pretty smart, Caveman." Squid said as he tapped his hat. "You're pretty smart."

The boys returned to their holes and kept digging. When the water truck rolled by, they got out of their holes and started to stretch. Glare was angered when he saw that Caveman moved up a place in line. _'Yeah, they make him move up for stealing something that Shorty had found. That's so wrong, treating a kid like that. Vengeance will be mine. '_

---------------------------------

"How're you feeling?" Glare asked softly as he dropped down by Shorty's side. Her face was flushed and her eyes looked dull as she smiled at him weakly.

"I fell a little bit better than yesterday," she responded in a hoarse voice.

"Well, I need to tell you something," Glare said as he stroked his sister's hair lovingly. "You know that tube you found?" He paused and waited for her to nod. "Well, Caveman stole it."

"What!?" Shorty's voice cracked. "Here I thought he was one of the most decent guys here. Now he's making Squid look like a gentleman!" Shorty paused and then asked, "Wait, so Caveman has it now?"

"No, X-Ray does. They made some sort of deal where he would give X-Ray something he found after this weird fossil incident. Anyway, he's going to use it to get the day off. It must be something important if it would give him the day off. I mean, why would a gold tube be buried in the ground?"

"Do you think….something is buried along with it?" Icy's voice asked from the other side of the tent. Glare got up and walked over to her. He opened his arms and pulled her into a hug as she stated, "Answer my question. And Shorty, you shouldn't be awake."

"This is more important than my sleep," she replied sternly as she sat up in bed, her arms shaking. "We may have found something that is our one way ticket outta this hell hole."

Icy blinked and didn't say anything. Glare spotted some sort of resentful look in her eye but didn't say anything about it. For the next hour they talked about what could be buried, who buried it, and why the Warden is making them look for it. They knew that it had to be important if their 'punishment' for breaking the law was digging for something.

"Well, I have to go take a shower. Let's sleep on it and we'll talk more tomorrow," Glare said as he stood up after glancing at his watch. "Are you feeling well enough to come back?" He asked Icy.

"Awww, you miss you little sister all ready?" She asked with a smirk.

"The twin that I know and love is back. It's obvious you're coming out tomorrow. If you don't want to, I'll make you," Glare said with a laugh as he left their tent. He entered theirs and grabbed his clean clothes before he went to the showers. He spotted Smirk standing near the entrance and waved.

"Hey Glare," he said with a half smile half smirk. "You gotta wait until my sister is done with her shower." A thought must've crossed his mind because his smile/smirk grew wider as he said. "You can watch to make sure no pervert comes to sneak a look at her. I all ready took my shower and I wanna go to the Wreck room." Before Glare could object Smirk shouted, "Hey Spit, I'm going to the Wreck Room. Glare will keep a look out."

"All right," SpitFire shouted back over the sound of running water. Glare rested his back on the side of the showers and closed his eyes, thinking about what he had done to be sent there in the first place. True, he made a couple of friends: Zigzag, Squid, Smirk, and SpitFire. And he was stronger than he ever was before he was sent there. _'But why was I sent here? They never said anything; they never really sent us to court. I know I didn't do anything but they accused me. Probably because I'm the only one who can take care of us. And I know Shorty didn't do anything. Icy couldn't have because she was around us most of the time. Maybe…we were framed…'_

"Man, you guys sure think a lot." SpitFire said as she walked down the steps, rubbing her wet hair with a towel. She was still wearing her orange jumpsuit, of course, but instead of a white t-shirt it was pale pink.

"Pink?" Glare asked as he pointed and raised an eyebrow. "You don't seem like a pink type of person."

"This was the first shirt I saw before I left so I grabbed it," she said with a shrug.

"Why were you sent here?"

"Arson, why do you think my nickname is SpitFire?"

"Because you like to skateboard?" Glare guessed. SpitFire rolled her ruby eyes but smiled anyway. Her eyes lit up whenever she smiled and Glare couldn't help but smile back as his heart thudded in his chest.

"How're your sisters?" She asked, breaking the silence that stretched on between them.

"Shorty's getting a little bit better and Icy's digging again tomorrow. It's hard to believe, but I missed her kick-butt attitude," Glare responded as he rubbed dust out of his eye.

"I'll get it," SpitFire said as she reached for his face and brought his head down. She blew gently in his eye and smiled as she announced, "It's gone." Glare blushed as he backed away a little and smiled back.

"Thanks. So, I'll see you tomorrow? Well of course I will, I mean it's not like we can go anywhere else," he rambled.

"I know what you mean," she said with a laugh. "Later, Glare." She waved as she walked off. Glare waved back as a grin spread wider on his face.

----------------------------------

"What're you so happy about at frickin four in the morning?" Magnet grumbled as he took a look at Glare's smiling face.

"Nothing," he responded as he looked around. He spotted Smirk and SpitFire and ran over to them.

"Now that was weird," Icy commented as she watched her brother. A smirk crossed her face as she said to herself. "Sure Glare, leave your twin alone while you go flirt."

"How're you feeling today, m'lady?" Zigzag asked with an exaggerated bow.

"Better, sir. But I would be ecstatic if I weren't stuck in this hell hole," Icy responded with an exaggerated curtsy.

"Would you like an escort to the lake?" He asked as he held out his arm. Icy laughed as she responded. "That would be great," and took his arm. They passed by Squid who had a sour look on his face, but Icy dismissed it seeing as his face was always like that in the morning. As they passed by Caveman she distinctly heard him asked X-Ray, "You got it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," X-Ray grumbled.

"You know…"

"No, I don't know! So just leave me alone, ok?"

Mr. Sir marched the delinquents out to the lake like usual. He was munching on sunflower seeds and shouting out at random campers. Zigzag and Icy parted and began to dig. Digging felt foreign to Icy who hadn't dug in a while, but she got used to it quickly. Just like the boys got used to her constant griping about the heat and digging.

The water truck came a little bit after sunrise. The truck stopped and the dust cloud drifted past it. X-Ray took his place at the front of the line. He thanked Mom after he filled the canteen then went back to his hole. The whole time Glare was well glaring at him. After everyone got their water X-Ray called, "Dr. Pendanski! Wait! I think I might've found something!"

Glare caught Icy's eye and they shared a look as they followed the boys. They knew that X-Ray was leading Pendanski to the wrong place but knew better than to say anything about it. They followed Dr. Pendanski to X-Ray's hole and they could see the gold tube sticking out f some dirt on the end of X-Ray's shovel. Dr. Pendanski took a long look at the bottom of it.

"I think the Warden is going to like this," he said more to himself than X-Ray.

"Does X get the day off?" Squid asked.

"He just might," Dr. Pendanski responded as he pulled a walkie talkie off his belt loop. "Lou, come on down here. We found something.

"We found something nice," X-Ray supplied.

"We found something nice," Dr. Pendanski echoed.

Glare pulled Icy aside and whispered in her ear, "We were right. She is definitely looking for something."

"Yeah. Now the only questions are: What is looking for? Why does she want it so bad? And will it help get us out of here?"

"Only time will tell."


	8. Scars of the Past

**Chapter Eight-Scars of the Past**

D-Tent stood by as they waited for the Warden to arrive. Glare and Icy stood quietly, shooting glances at each other from time to time as if they were having a conversation without words. Finally, they watched as a pale blue and white 1968 Chevrolet Corvette rolled up in a cloud of dust.

"That's a nice car," Twitch muttered as it screeched to a halt.

"Don't even think about it, Twitchy Boy," Icy said as she walked over to him and flicked him on the forehead. "You try and go for that car and the Warden'll kill ya."

"Are you serious?" He asked as his face paled, despite the sun that was shining down on them.

"Does this look like the face of a joker?" Icy asked as she stared at him hard. He shook his head and began to shake as Icy walked away, cackling under her breath. "He's just too easy to scare."

"You're just too too cruel sometimes," Glare said as he tied not to laugh. The twins turned to watch the Warden get out of her car. Icy scowled a little when she thought about what had happened when she first met the Warden, but she pushed the thought away.

"This where you found it?" The Warden asked X-Ray as she took off her sunglasses and put it on top of the cowboy hat that covered her flaming red hair.

"Yes ma'am," X-Ray responded politely.

"Pendanski, I want you to drive X-Ray back to camp and give him double shower tokens and a snack." She let a rare smile shine though as she added, "But before you do, I want you to fill everyone's canteens."

"Uh…I all ready did that," Dr. Pendanski told her.

"Excuse me?" She asked as she turned to him.

"I all ready filled their canteens when you came-"

"Excuse me." Dr. Pendanski fell silent as the Warden looked around at D-Tent. "Caveman. come here a second." She waited for him to walk over to her with a somewhat worried look on his face. "Did you take a drink from your canteen after Pendanski filled it up?"

"Oh, I really don't need anymore water-"

"Excuse me?"

"…yeah. Yeah, I did."

"Hand it here."

Caveman handed the Warden his canteen and she held it up so he was eye level with the water line. Turning to Dr. Pendanski she shook it as she asked, "Do you hear the empty spaces? Well fill them! Once you drive X-Ray back to Camp come back with wheelbarrows." She shoved the canteen into Pendanski's chest as she yelled, "And get B and C Tent over here!"

"Oh no," Icy heard Glare mutter.

"What's wrong?"

"Perv and Twist are in B-Tent." Glare let the words sink in as he watched Icy's face change from one of calmness to another of defiance and a little bit of fear.

"I can deal with 'em."

"Are you sure? I mean, I'm always here and-"

"Glare, I'm sure. I've been through worse shit than having to deal with rapists."

"I don't wanna know how you know, but if you're sure…and watch your language! You're giving Shorty a bad example by doing that."

"_You're_ giving Shorty a bad example by being walked on!"

Glare, well, glared at Icy and she glared back. The twins turned away from each other with scowls on their faces as they waited to be told what to do. Icy ignored the winks that were being shot her way by Perv and Twist as she took a drink from her canteen. Once Pendanski came back they were ordered to have two people dig one hole: one person shovels out dirt and puts it in a wheel barrow while the other person sifts though it then dumps the dirt somewhere else. Surprisingly, Icy didn't complain when she heard what she had to do. She got used to being told what to do and learned not to back talk unless she wanted to get injured again.

"Why so uptight?" Zigzag asked as he looked at the twins.

"Glare's being an overprotective jackass!" Icy snapped.

"Well Icy's being a rebellious butthead!" Glare growled.

"Hey hey. There's no need for sibling rivalry here. We should all be happy and work in peace and harmony."

"In _this_ hell hole?" Icy asked as she looked at him as if he just announced he was gay and was pregnant. "Look around, Ziggy. Take a good look. We're only working together all though we all want two things here: 1) to get out, and 2) to make sure that we keep our minds. We don't necessarily have to like each other. Like right now I despise having a twin!"

"Congratulations, you finally used the word right in a sentence. Give the girl a prize," Glare said sarcastically. "I know, how about my foot up her butt?"

"Stop arguing like an old married couple and get to digging!" Mr. Sir barked from where he was standing. He arrived when Dr. Pendanski came back with the wheelbarrows and made sure to check if the diggers were doing what they were supposed to be doing. They spent the rest of their digging time digging holes like that. The Warden bribed them with longer showers or more shower tokens.

"God, I'm going to hate doing this," Icy muttered as D-Tent walked back to the tents.

"But it's a lot easier to dig now, chica," Magnet pointed out as he tossed his shovel into a pile.

"I liked digging alone. It gave me time to think," she said as she tossed her shovel, grinning when she heard that it had hit Perv and Twist.

"You think?" Glare asked in surprise as he tossed his shovel onto the pile. "Alert the media."

"I should be doing the same about your not-so-secret crush on SpitFire." Glare didn't say anything as he walked ahead. Icy glared at his back as she shoved her hands into her big orange pockets that were on her jumpsuit.

"Why are you guys arguing? You usually get along fine," Armpit pointed out as he rolled up the sleeves to his jumpsuit and fanned his face that was shiny with sweat.

"You get to know a person when you're placed in a different environment," was all she responded as she brought her hand up to the locket she had concealed around her neck and under her shirt.

"Hey guys," Caveman asked suddenly. "How did the Warden know my name?"

"She has little cameras and microphones. Yep, they're everywhere. In the tent, in the showers, the Wreck Room…" Zigzag responded.

"No she doesn't!"

"Dude, don't listen to him," Squid jumped in. "I read his files. He suffers from, um…acute paranoia."

"You read other people's files?" Icy asked with a raised eyebrow. Inside she was panicking, she didn't want anyone to know the real reason they were sent there. Even her siblings didn't know and she didn't want them to hate her for it.

"If you're thinking I read yours, you don't have to worry," he said turning to her. "I'd never read anything of a girls' that's private…unless it's about me."

"Being a little conceited are we? Try not to let that go to your head, it's big enough all ready." With that, Icy left the boys as she sprinted towards her tent to check on her sister. Every time she checked on Shorty she was either asleep or puking her brains out. One time she'd seem like she's getting better and the next it'd seem like she's getting worse. "Hey little one, how're you feeling?" Icy asked as she entered her tent, pulling her dark t-shirt away from her body.

"OK, no improvements, no drastic changes." Shorty responded in a hoarse voice as she struggled to sit up.

"Good news and bad news. Which would you want first?" Icy asked as she sat on the end of Shorty's cot.

"You two fighting again?" She asked with a sigh.

"How do you possibly know stuff like this?"

"I can feel it.

Icy chuckled as her blue eyes connected with Shorty's blue and green ones as she said, "Sometimes you're waay too smart. We're just not seeing eye to eye right now. Everything will be fine later. I promise."

"Pinky promise?"

"Pinky promise."

They hooked pinky fingers and shook their hands smiling. Shorty laid back as she asked, "So how're things with you and the guys?"

"Ok I guess. They're like brothers we never had…always looking out for me. It's a good feeling because…I know we're not alone anymore and I finally feel accepted."

"In a group of juvenile delinquents." Shorty pointed out. "I get your point, but that's not what I was asking. You know I'm really smart. I saw how Glare had a crush on SpitFire even before the signs were shown. What I mean is…well, are you attracted to any of them?"

"No," Icy responded immediately as she looked hard at her sister. "What would make you ask that?"

"If you haven't noticed, which wouldn't surprise me that you haven't, Zigzag and Squid are both fighting for your attention."

Icy blinked as she continued to stare at Shorty, who was staring back with a suspicious look in her eye. Icy finally found her voice as she said, "You gotta be kidding me!"

"I'm not. I told you, I'm smart for my age. I can see it in their eyes when they look at you. They practically light up when you talk to them or smile at them." Icy scoffed as she shook her head. "You know I'm right. Hm…now that I think about it, you and Squid are a lot alike."

"How? I'm not as dumb as he is."

"No, but you two are both stubborn and have experience pain in your lives at one point."

"What're you talking about?"

"I'll prove it to you in…five…four…three…two…" She glanced up with a smile on her face right as Squid came into the tent. Icy raised an eyebrow as she looked at her grinning sister. "Right on time. Squiddy, could you sit here please?" She asked as she scooted over and pointed to the empty spot on her bed. He did so with a confused look on his face.

"Is something bothering you, Shorty?" Squid asked in concern.

"No, but I need to tell you something. You know how there are psychics in the world?"

"Yeaaaaaah."

"Well, you can say I'm one of 'em. I can't read people's minds, but I can look into their past. And that's exactly what I'm going to do to you because you and Icy are a lot alike, more than you two want to believe. She won't tell anyone about the pain in her past because she doesn't think anyone will understand. But I think you will."

"Um…I don't think you should-" Squid stared.

"Just relax," Max said as she reached forward and placed a small hand on Icy's forehead and another on Squid's forehead. "Relax…"

**-Flashback-**

"_Mommy! Daddy! Stop yelling!" Alan Smith cried as he placed his hands over his ears. The six-year-old boy heard a lot of arguing between his parents for as long as he could remember. He couldn't remember a time when they were a big happy family. Those memories faded without warning and he knew that he wouldn't get them back._

"_You can't just leave us! You can't!" Alexis, Alan's mother, shouted at the top of her lungs as she pounded her husbands back with her fists._

"_I won't leave you, Alexis, because I left a long time ago! You just didn't know it but I was gone!" Alden shouted back as he backslapped her. They ignored the small boy who was sitting in the corner crying hysterically and trying to block out the shouting and the sounds of crashes and slaps._

"_You'll have nothing if you leave! NOTHING!"_

"_I had nothing here! I hate it here, can't you see that?"_

"_But what about your son?"_

"_My son!? It was a mistake to have a son! Like it was a mistake to have you as a wife! It was mistake to marry you. That's why my life is filled with, mistakes."_

_Alden grabbed his keys and started to leave the room. He stopped when he saw his crying son shaking uncontrollably, his eyes closed, and his arms up to his ears. He took one long look at Alan before leaving the room. Alexis ran after him, screaming at the top of his lungs. The voices faded as Alan finally removed his small hands from his ears and walked over to the open window. He watched as his mother tried to beg Alden to stay, but he slammed the door to his car shut and she started to pound her fists against it._

"_What can I tell him?"_

"_Tell him anything you want, you bitch! I don't give a damn! Tell him…tell him I went to get ice cream."_

_In the sound of screeching tires, Alan's father left their house and his life…_

_**-Six years later-**_

"_Alan, come here please!" Alexis called one morning._

"_Why?" Alan called back as he covered his head with his blanket._

"_Just get your ass in here!"_

_Not wanting to anger his mother even further, twelve-year-old Alan got out of his bed and quickly pulled on a pair of baggy jeans and a dark t-shirt. He quickly brushed his hair and went down into the kitchen. He stopped abruptly when he saw his mom perched on the knee of a rugged looking man who had a cigarette in between his lips._

"_Alan, sweetie, this is Duke. I'm seeing him now," Alexis said with a wide smile. Duke removed the cigarette from between his lips and kissed her neck, causing her to giggle like a little girl. Alan tried hard not to make a face, but his mother saw it and glared at him. "You'll have to get used to him because he's going to become your new father."_

"_Go fetch me a beer, son," Duke said in a southern drawl as he continued to kiss Alexis's neck as she giggled again and wrapped her arms around his neck. Alan left the room silently and went down into the basement. He took his time going down the stairs, thinking about the man. _'New father? I don't want another dad. My dad will come back soon. I know he will'_ he thought to himself as he opened the refrigerator and reached for a beer. He heard shrieks and groans. He knew better than to go back upstairs. He looked around the room and spied the window that was in the top right hand corner of the basement. He ran over to it and tried to reach for it but found he was too short. He stacked boxes underneath it and stood on it. He pushed the latch over and climbed out the window. He slid forward on the grass a little bit before he started to run away from the house._

_His heart pounded as he ran quickly down the street. He finally stopped when he reached a cross walk. He didn't know where to go. Being quiet and moody, he didn't have any friends to turn to. Walking quickly once the sign said WALK, he headed towards the mall. That was the only place he felt like he fit in._

_Once he got there he breathed in the smell of pretzels and pizza and sighed in happiness. He walked around the mall and listened to music that were in some of the stores before he moved onto video games. He stared longingly at one as he reached into his pocket to check for money. Who was he kidding; his mother never gave him allowance. She spent all the money she made on beer and at bars. Alan may be twelve, but he wasn't stupid. He knew what his mother was doing and he didn't want to be a part of it._

_He looked around the store as his heart started to beat in his chest. The person at the front desk was with a customer. He grabbed the video game and stuck it in his pants, secured in between the waist line of his pants and the waist line of his boxers. He started to casually walk out of the store, but a blaring siren caught his attention. He looked back and saw the person behind the counter starting towards him so he ran._

_He shoved past people that were in the mall and weaved in and out of them, trying to get the man to stop following him. The video game was starting to slide down his stomach but he ignored it as he continued to run. He made it out side and turned into the alley that was next to it. He panted heavily as he waited for the man to go back into the store. Sighing, he started to slowly make his way back to his house, but he stopped by the ice cream store on the way. Once he got back home it was dark and the front hallway was littered with beer bottles. The house was very quiet and he thought his mother and Duke were asleep._

_He accidentally knocked on beer bottle into another, causing a faint clinking sound, but it was enough to be heard. Alexis suddenly flew in from the kitchen and glared at him. Her eyes were bloodshot, her hair ruffled, lipstick smudged, and she could barely stand in the doorway without leaning against it. Her red and white plaid shirt was open all the way and her black bra was being shown. Duke walked up behind her, only wearing his jeans._

"_Where the hell have you been?" Alexis shouted as she marched up and slapped Alan across the face. He brought his hand up to his stinging cheeks as tears of pain fell down his face. _

"_We need you to go out and get more beer," Duke said gruffly as she rubbed his eyes._

"_B-But, I-I'm n-not allowed to. I-I have to be ei-eighteen to get b-beer," Alan stammered as he was glared upon._

"_I don't give a fuck!" Alexis shouted as she grabbed her son by the hair. He cried out in protest as he fell to his knees. Alexis dragged him backwards as she tried to get out of her grasp. She pulled open the front door and shoved him outside. "And don't come back until you get the damn beer!" With that, she slammed the door in his face and left the crying twelve year old sitting on the cold porch all night._

_Over the years Alan got used to being abused and he got used to the pain. He used the pain to his advantage; to help make him stronger. He became ill tempered and talked back to his mother, getting himself hit worse and worse each time. Sometimes it was by her fists, but most times it was by beer bottles. He got a lot of scars that way. He started to withdraw and run away from home until he just didn't return. Once he turned sixteen was when he started to steal things to survive. Be it stores or houses, he stole from it. The night he was caught and sent to Camp Green Lake was when he tried to steal from his own house. What he tried to steal was a stuffed squid that his father gave him when he was born._

**-End Flashback-**

The tent was quiet except for Squid. As Shorty pulled her hands away he kept his eyes closed as tears leaked from the corners. He didn't care that people, girls nonetheless, were seeing him with his guard down. Reliving the past hurt him so much and he wished that his life was better each and everyday he was there at Camp Green Lake.

Squid wiped his eyes with the back of his hand as Shorty told him, "If you ever need a shoulder to cry on, we're here." He just nodded as he sniffed and wiped his eyes again.

"Now that you saw my p-past…" Squid started. He took a shaky breath before continuing, "I get to see yours."

"No way," Icy declared, a trace of fear in her voice.

"It's only fair," Shorty told her. "We've been keeping our past a secret ever since we came here. They have a right to know by now."

"Shorty, I'm telling you right now you leave my past alone! There are things I went through that you won't be able to handle!"

"We'll just see about that."

"Shorty…"

"You seen scared, _Mackenzie._ Nothing ever scares you," Shorty taunted as Icy growled in anger. Before Icy could say anything, Shorty placed her palms back on their foreheads and their eyes closed automatically.

**-Flashback-**

"_Matthew. Mackenzie, come meet your little sister," Malcolm Montgomery called one afternoon. The seven-year-old twins grinned at each other before racing out of their room and down the stairs. Mackenzie jumped on her brothers back and he carried her piggy back into the living room._

"_Where's mommy?" Matthew asked as he looked around._

"_I'm sorry kids…she died giving birth. But…before she died she decided to name this little girl Maxine Maria Montgomery," Malcolm said in a choked voice. Tears sprang to Matthew's eyes but Mackenzie just stood there not saying anything. She was numb, she couldn't so anything about it._

"_C-Can I hold Max?" Mackenzie asked after a while of silence._

"_Of course," Malcolm said as he handed the bundle of blankets to her. "Excuse me." Matthew and Mackenzie peered down at the baby. She yawned and opened her eyes. Mackenzie and Matthew saw that she had one green eye and one blue eye and they both seemed to smile up at the twins._

"_She looks more like us than mom–than daddy," Matthew pointed out as he stuck out his finger. The twins smiled as Maxine reached out her small hand and wrapped it around his finger. She guided it to her mouth and sucked on it. "Even though she doesn't know something bad just happened she seems really happy to be around us."_

"_Yeah…she is definitely one of us."_

**-Four Years Late (Mackenzie's POV)r-**

_I sat nervously on my bed as I bit my lower lip. I looked at the clock and confirmed the time. 6:07 PM. My dad would be home any minute. He always came home at about 6:10. That always gave me time to try and hide. I was afraid of him. No one knew that, not even my twin brother or my little sister. They think I love my father to death._

_Well they're wrong._

_What they don't know is, whenever he comes into my room at night to help me with 'homework', he actually beats me. He makes sure my screams aren't heard and that my bruises and scars and cuts are covered up before I go and play with my little sister or read with my twin._

_I don't deserve this life, but this is the way I have to live it. I don't have many friends because of my kept secret. They think I'm too quiet and too depressed that I don't want to do anything with them. I guess they're right, but I am friends with my brothers' friends. But that's probably because I'm his twin._

"_MACKENZIE!"_

_The thing I'm afraid of more than dad hitting me when he is sober, is him hitting me when he is drunk. I quickly dove under the bed and stayed there, trembling as I heard the front door open and close._

"_Matthew, where's your sister?" I heard his muffled voice through the floor._

"_In her room waiting for you to come up and help her with her homework," he responded. I chocked back a sob as I heard these words. _'If only he knew'_. I quickly shut up when I heard my door open, close, and lock. I was trapped in here with a maniac. I knew better than to call the police because he would split me, my brother, and my sister up and I would rather die then let that happen._

_A hand suddenly reached underneath the bed and grabbed my ponytail. I held in a scream of pain as I was dragged out from underneath it. I looked up with fear filled eyes into the angry bloodshot ones of my father. He had a malicious grin on his face as he yanked me onto my feet and shoved me back onto my bed. I heard a noise and felt my head buried into my covers as sharp pain hit my lower back._

_My cry of pain was muffled as he whipped me with his belt in the same spot again and again. My breathing was cut off as I began to get light headed. I was finally lifted from the covers and took in a deep breath, only to get it knocked out by being slammed into my dresser and thrown onto the floor._

"_Stop it! Please!" I cried as I covered my face with my arms. He punched me in the stomach and I curled up in a ball from the pain._

"_Shut up, you bitch!" He screamed as he kicked me in the side. I cried out as he kicked me again. Then all was silent as he left the room. My eleven-year-old body ached and I crawled over to my bed with difficulty. I sighed once I felt the mattress sink under my weight. I just lay there as drowsiness took over me and I fell into a light sleep._

_I knew that was a dangerous decision but I was so tired…_

_I was woken up by my bed being pulled out from under me and flung up against the wall. I land on the floor on the side away from him, thank goodness, so my eyes had a little bit of time to adjust._

_"You should have known that was not all your punishment you piece of shit!" I hear him scream._

'_Lord, please let Matthew not be in here yet.' I take a quick glance across the room. His bed was empty. 'Thank god.'_

_He lunged at me with my blanket in his hand. I was so scared that I tried running for the closet even though I knew he wasn't drunk and would follow me. Right after I shut the door behind me he opens it and jerks my arm out of socket and me out into the open._

_"You stupid little bitch, you think your so smart but your NOT!" He takes the blanket and wraps it around my neck and then tightens it to where I can't catch my breath. I pulled at the contraption around my neck but I couldn't get it loose. I was suffocating. Surely this time, he would conquer his goal or what seemed to be his goal; I was going to die right then and there._

_I brought back my heel and smashed him in the groin. He threw me across the room and I hit my head on my dresser. He kicked me in the side one last time as I coughed up a little blood as I faintly heard the door slam._

_I couldn't take this anymore._

_I had to leave._

**-Three Years Later-**

"_Holy crap," I muttered as I ducked to avoid the bullets that were being fired at me. Here I am fourteen-years-old and being shot at. I didn't even do anything wrong. They claimed that I had stepped onto their territory and I should go back to my side of town. They called me a Nightmare Soldier, whatever that was. I had no clue. I was just walking down the street trying to get back home to my sister when I was grabbed and pulled into the alleyway. I was kicked and punched but I was used to the pain, so I fought back. Then they pointed a gun at me and I ran for my life._

_I could hear angry shouts behind me and the sounds of guns being reloaded. I didn't look back and I ignored the pain that was in my side as I continued to run. I was getting close to my house but then I changed directions. I didn't want to get my siblings involved with this. As I ran to a run down part of town I saw guns being pointed back at me._

"_Hurry up. We'll cover you!" A voice called. I nodded as I ran into a house and slammed the door shut. I heard cries of agony and gun shots hitting trashcans and the walls of houses. Rapid footsteps came my way before a girl grasped my arm and pulled me out the back door._

"_Take this," she said in a hurried tone as she placed a gun in my hands. She pulled one out from her jeans as we crouched down in the alleyway next to the houses. A shot was fired at my head but I quickly ducked down before it hit me. I quickly got up and shot at three guys. I hit two of them in the chest and the other in the leg._

_A battle raged on between us before they retreated. The girl took the gun back from me as I tried to keep my heart from racing too much. The girl backed away from me as a boy walked up and towered over me. I glared up at him as he glared down at me and demanded, "Tell us who you are!"_

"_I'm Mackenzie Montgomery," I responded in a strong voice._

"_What're you doing in Nightmare Soldier territory, Shadow Stalker?"_

"_I don't even know what you're talking about. Who're the Nightmare Soldiers? Who're the Shadow Stalkers?"_

"_We're a gang," the girl supplied. "This is our territory. We try to keep it safe from the gang that was chasing you. The Shadow Stalkers are our rivals. What did you do to anger them, betray 'em?"_

"_I never even met them before. I was just on my way home when they attacked me and I ran here," I told them as I looked the girl in the eye._

"_Ever handle a gun before?" The guy in front of me asked as he circled me and looked me up and down._

"_No."_

"_You seemed like an expert back there."_

"_Crimson…" the girl said as she looked at me._

"_Go on home, girl, And if you ever come back…don't be scared."_

_Weeks faded to months as I spent my every afternoon with the Nightmare Soldiers. I told my siblings that I was out walking. I think they actually believed me. One night we, Shade and I, were on a food run for our gang when we got cornered by the Shadow Stalkers. I told everyone inside to leave as they started firing shots at us. Shade helped the innocent ones outside as I tried to fight them off single handedly. I ducked in an aisle and checked my pockets for more ammo. When I found I didn't have any I threw it to draw them near as I whipped out my switchblade. I waited as footsteps came closer. Once a foot was in my view I reached over and stabbed the switchblade into the person's side._

_I heard a gasp that didn't sound familiar and stood as I turned the corner. I gasped myself when I found out who I had just stabbed. It was a girl about my sisters age. Tears of pain were leaking out of her eyes as she looked up at me. Those seconds when I had her vision set on me seemed like eternity. Finally, she fell to her knees and onto her side as blood started to come out of the wound. Shocked and angry at myself for doing that to a kid, I ran for my life._

**-End flashback (Normal POV)-**

"You hurt a kid?" Shorty asked in a quiet voice, breaking the silence a she removed her shaky hand from their foreheads.

"Shorty," Icy said in a hoarse voice, ignoring that Squid was staring at her.

"How could you!? Did you kill others too!? Are you going to turn on me and try and slay me in my sleep?"

"Shorty, shut up! You know I'd never do that to you!"

"But you'd do it to other kids if you had a choice?"

"Arrgh! This is why I didn't want you to know! I knew you'd act like this and hate me for no reason! IT WAS A MISTAKE, ALL RIGHT!?"

"Just like it was a mistake having you for a sister," Shorty said in a cold voice. Icy saw a tear of anger escape her green eye. Icy silently got up from the cot and angrily left the tent. "You should go," Shorty said as she nodded towards Squid. "I'm sorry I made you see that."

"It's all right," he said softly as he leant over and kissed her forehead before getting up himself and leaving. He looked around for Icy but it seemed like she had disappeared. He made his way to the Wreck Room, replaying the scenes of his past and of Icy's past in his head. He shook his head to make the images clear; he didn't want to think about his past anymore. It only brought him pain, and he didn't need anymore pain in his life. He spotted someone leaning against the side of the Wreck Room ad recognized Icy's angry voice. He walked up next to her and asked, "Are you ok?"

"Does it look like it?" She snapped as she glared at him. "My brother isn't speaking to me and my sister hates my guts. I've been abused all my life and we're all stuck in this hell hole because of me!"

"It isn't your fault."

"Yes it is! You don't understand!" Icy was shouting at him now and she didn't care who heard.

"Then make me understand!" Squid shouted back.

"I thought that I had the perfect life. A twin brother to share my secrets with and a little sister to look up to me. When my mom died I started to grow numb and angry! After that, I never felt anything but pain and anger." She wasn't shouting now. She was speaking softly as if she never believed the story in the first place. She stared vacantly out at the sun that was setting in the distance, making purple and pink mix with orange and gold in the sky. "A couple of years later my dad started to hit me. I guess the fact that his wife was gone made him crack or something. He took his anger out on me because I looked exactly like my mom. I knew deep down that he still loved me and I used to think that he hurt me because I did something wrong so it was some sort of punishment. Then he left. I then realized that he never really loved us at all. Once I met Crimson and them, I felt accepted for the first time in my life. Crimson seemed to look out for me, like my brother did, I guess that's why I fell in love with him. But then, when I got caught and he didn't come to get me, I figured that the love I had for him was only a replacement for the anger I felt inside." She turned to look at Squid briefly as she said, "Love was something denied to me for so long. Love, I always believed, was such a stupid word. But still, I had always wanted it. I'd had my fair share of infatuations, but they were nothing but bleak and empty attempts at love. And the one time I finally fully comprehended what it was, it was taken away as quickly as it had come. I still don't understand how it happened. I've tried as hard as I could, and somehow the pieces still don't seem to fit."

"I know what you mean," Squid finally said as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn't flinch like he thought she would, she just continued to stare at the sun. "But…I think…I finally understand what love is."

"What is love, Alan?" Icy asked, using his real name for the first time.

"Love is when you'll do anything to make the person you love smile…or do anything to make sure the person you love is safe and out of harm. Love is…when that person you love fills a part of you that's been empty for a long time. A part of me has been empty for a while…but I think…I found my love...i-in you."


	9. I Promise

**A/N: This chapter's basically a filler, but I had fun writing it anyway. I finally added romance into it, so be glad for that. Sorry I didn't update for a while, I was really busy visiting relatives and trying to catch up on school work. Anyway, here's the chapter.**

**Chapter Nine-"I Promise"**

**-Glare's POV-**

"Hey Glare," SpitFire and Smirk greeted me once I entered the Wreck Room I smiled at them, despite my mood, and joined them at the pool table.

"Hey guys," I said which I hoped was a cheerful voice. I guess it wasn't because they asked me what was wrong. "I got into a fight with Icy."

"The fight can't be that bad. You're by each others' sides all of the time and you get along better than the rest of us," SpitFire said in a dismissive tone as she aimed her cue stick at the ball.

"We're not speaking to each other," I stated without looking at them.

"Still don't see the bad thing in that."

"It's complicated."

"I'm sure it'll get better," Smirk said in an understanding voice as he watched his sister line up her cue stick with the cue ball once more. "Things always seem to get worse before they get better. At least, that's what my mom told me."

"I guess you're right," I agreed with a sigh. "But I'm not going to apologize to her."

"Eh, let her cool off a couple of days before you try to make up with her," SpitFire put in as she slammed the tip of her cue stick against the cue ball. The white ball missed the other balls and Smirk laughed triumphantly. "Because if you don't, you could end up saying something stupid that'll make her hate you."

"You should trust her on that," Smirk said as he looked up from the cue stick he was holding. "Hey dude, what's that?" He nodded towards the circular locket that was held in my hand. I didn't realize I had taken it out of my pocket. I shook my head slightly as I placed it back into my pocket.

"It's nothing." I responded as I looked up and forced a smile. SpitFire pursed her lips as she twirled the cue stick around in her hands.

"C'mon Glare, lets go for a walk," SpitFire said as she placed her cue stick down on the table.

"Before you go off and start flirting like no tomorrow," Smirk said as his eyes locked with mine. I blushed as she continued, "Could we please finish the game first?" Rolling her eyes, SpitFire picked up her cue stick again and aimed it at the cue ball. The stick connected with the ball which slammed into the eight ball, which fell into the corner pocket.

"I win!" SpitFire said triumphantly as she lead me out of the Wreck Room. We walked around in silence, heading towards the holes that were in the distance. I kept my hands shoved in my pockets as I started to whistle. "Whistling isn't going to change the fact that you miss your sister."

"What?" I asked. She spoke up so suddenly that I didn't understand what she had said.

"Whistling isn't going to change the fact that you miss your sister. I mean, I know you're twins and all, but you two will eventually have to separate."

I just kicked at the dirt beneath my feet as we continued to walk. I didn't want to admit it, because I knew I'd have to deal with a gloating sister for a while. But I did miss her. I regret fighting with her and I'd take it back if I could. But she's too stubborn and likes to get her way. I usually go along with it so I won't have to deal with her being angry with me. I don't know, I guess…I just like seeing her happy all of the time, even if I'm not the one who made her happy."

"I understand," she said with a nod. "It's like how…I hate seeing you sad when you should be happy too."

I stopped walking as I blinked and looked at her. _'Did she say what I thought she said?'_ She stared at me hard as if challenging me to say something. Suddenly, the air around me seemed hotter than usual as I tried to wet my lips and think of something to say. I usually never got this way around girls and this was very strange to me. She sighed before asking, "So do you like me or what? I'm not going to stand around all day waiting for an answer."

I opened and closed my mouth as I tried to say something and I knew I looked like a drowning fish. "Uh…well, I uh…you see…"

"You aren't too good with conversation, are you?"

"I-I….I just…"

"You…?"

"I…I don't have time…for a girlfriend right now." _'What!? That's not true! Say something Glare, anything to take that look off of her face! SAY SOMETHING, STUPID!'_ "I'm sorry…SpitFire."

"Yeah, s'om I," she muttered as she turned and started to head back to the tent. I knew better than to say anything to her. _'Great. That's two girls I made mad in the same day!'_' I sighed in frustration as I gripped my hair, as if I were going to pull it out. Grumbling to myself, I decided to go back to the tent and check on Shorty. When I saw that she was crying, which she rarely ever did, I knew something was wrong, it just was a matter of what Icy said to her.

"What's wrong, Shorty?" I asked as she dropped to her side and wiped away her tears.

"The only reason we're stuck h-here is beca-cause Icy stabbed a ki-id!" Shorty wailed as she sniffed and hiccupped.

"What?" I asked in disbelief. "No, you must've heard wrong-"

"I didn't hear it, I saw it!" She yelled at me.

"Shorty, you didn't..."

"I had to! I had to know why we were put here!"

"How'd you get Icy to do it?"

"I had to trick her into it," she replies softly, finally sounding like the eight-year-old she was as if she were in trouble. "I needed to know. The only way I tricked her into it…was proving to her that Squiddy likes her and to trust him so I made them see each other's pasts."

"You know how dangerous your power is," I said gently as I brushed her black bangs off of her forehead to see if she had a fever still. "You can't just use it like that. Someone could find you and-"

"I know, I know."

"Just be careful when you're using that power, ok?"

"Whatever." I frowned when I heard her say that. Looking at the scowl on the face made me feel even more guilty about arguing with Icy. I ruffled her hair as I stood and held out my hand. "What?"

"We're going for a walk," I responded as I bent over and lifted her out of the bed.

"But what about my sickness?" She asked in a protest.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had a reason to _want_ to stay sick," I said as I eyed her suspiciously as she wrapped her small arms around my neck and rested her small head on my shoulder.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she muttered. "I've had this sickness before, remember?"

"But you were up on your feet three days later. It's been three days and you don't seem any better." Shorty stayed silent as she averted her gaze. "Or maybe you like being visited by the guys." Shorty squirmed in my arms as I laughed lightly. "But it depends on which one guy. Zigzag, Magnet, and Squid visited you the most. It all depends one which one you like more." Shorty was squirming even more and I had to hold onto her tighter to make sure I didn't drop her. "You stay around Zigzag and Squid the most, so that rules out Magnet. Wait...you have a crush on one of 'em don't you?" Shorty made a face as I raised my eyebrows and asked, "You like Squid don't you?"

"No!" Shorty shouted defiantly as her face turned red.

"Relax! I was just kidding," I said as I shook my head. She stayed silent until she muttered quietly, as if she didn't want me to hear it, "It's not fair. I finally make a friend and Icy takes him away from me."

"Shorty," I said with a sigh. "Icy can't take any of your friends away because, sooner or later, he's going to come back and see how you're doing and want to just talk with you. Not her, not SpitFire, not anyone else."

"Speaking of SpitFire, how'd it go? I can tell that she's bound to ask you if you like her anytime now. Well?"

"I made a mistake."

"That seriously doesn't surprise me, Glare."

I couldn't help but laugh at how right Shorty was. She giggled a little as I carried her into the Wreck Room. I set her down on the floor next to Zigzag and he automatically turned to talk to her. He always seemed to have time for her, no matter what he was doing. As I walked over to the couch I heard X-Ray saying, "Se what I'm saying, am I right, or am I right?" I sat down in between Magnet and Twitch and let out a sigh as my sore body relaxed on the couch. How'm I still sore after a couple of weeks of work, well, my body just reacts that way. I looked up when he called, "Yo Caveman, my man!"

Caveman slowly walked over to the couch and plopped down. He was the slowest digger out of all of us and I couldn't help but notice that he got tired faster than the rest of us. But he did seem to be losing weight fast. He was thinner than I remember seeing him when I first got there.

"Hey, slide on over, Squid. Make room for Caveman," he barked. Squid glared up at X-Ray but didn't say anything. He looked more aggravated than usual and he was chewing on his toothpick more feverishly than usual. "What's the matter, you guys tired or something?" He asked with a laugh.

"Shut up, X," Armpit groaned.

"Hey, keep it down will you," Zigzag called. "We're trying to watch tv." He nodded his head in the direction of Shorty, who was leaning against his arm. All of us glanced at them, uncertain what to say, because they were staring at a broken tv screen.

Later, I was sitting in the tent with the rest of the guys. Caveman and Zero were on their cots. Caveman was watching us play cards while Zero stared at the ceiling. I went over in my mind a way to tell the Warden that Shorty was the one who found the gold tube and not get X-Ray and Caveman in trouble, but it didn't seem possible. Shorty and Icy came in to talk with us a half hour ago. Shorty immediately went over to Zigzag and stared at his hand of cards as he played poker against Magnet, Twitch, Armpit, Squid, X-Ray, and I. Icy just leaned against the tent wall either glaring hard at me or staring at the ground. Dr. Pendanski came in later holding two envelopes in his hand.

"Stanley," he said as he handed out a letter to him.

"His name's Caveman," X-Ray told him.

"Stanley," Dr. Pendanski repeated.

"My name's Caveman," Caveman said from his cot.

"Well, I have a letter here for someone named Stanley Yelnats. It doesn't say Caveman anywhere." Dr. Pendanski started to leave but Caveman got up from his cot. He grabbed the letter and walked back to his cot as Squid asked, "Who's it from, your _mother_?" I couldn't help but notice a hint of jealousy and anger in the way he asked that. Caveman remained silent as Dr. Pendanski looked at another letter in his hand. "Mackenzie? You have a letter, too."

With a raised eyebrow, the only hint of curiousness of shock on her bored face, she stood upright and reached out her hand for the envelope. She looked at the return address on the front and stuck it into her pocket without saying anything. I wanted to ask her what it was, but I knew we were still fighting and I definitely didn't want to be the first to apologize.

"Icy got a letter? It's the end fo the world, now," Zigzag said with a teasing smile. Icy let out a small laughed as she smiled a little.

"Hey, ease up man. If she doesn't want to read it to us, she doesn't have to," X-Ray told him.

"Judging by the fact that you guys can't read," Icy said in monotone as she inspected her nails. "But it's from Crimson."

"What's he want?" Twitch asked as he turned towards her.

"He's pressing charges against me for sexual assault," she said. She locked eyes with Shorty and I and said in a low tone, "You happy now? I might finally be able to leave you two alone and you'll never have to worry about me again. That's what you wanted, right?"

Silence hung in the air before she shook her head, pushed herself off the wall, and left the tent. Zero stared after her before getting up and leaving the tent. Everyone turned to look at Shorty and I as we exchanged a glance.

"Aren't you guys going to go after her?" Caveman asked us. We didn't say anything so he got up and left the tent also.

"Dude," was all Twitch could get out

**-Icy's POV-**

"Hey Icy, wait up," Caveman called as he and Zero ran after me. I ignored them and kept walking towards my tent. I walked in and flopped down on my cot as I started to punch my pillow. "Icy, stop!"

"Why, Caveman?" I demanded as I whirled around and glared at him. My life sucks! I'm stuck in this hell hole and my siblings hate me!"

"I know…maybe I can help make it better," he responded in an uncertain voice as he shrugged his shoulders.

"There's nothing you can do to help! I'm plagued with bad luck and unfairness!"

"You're making it seem like our lives aren't fair," Zero suddenly pointed out. I blinked as I looked at him. I mean, he just talked. He usually never talks to anyone. I thought the kid was mute this whole time.

"Yeah, I mean, my whole family is cursed with bad luck," Caveman said with a small smile.

"Is that who you got your letter from?"

"Yeah, my mom sent it."

"Don't let my attitude stop you from reading it."

I sighed as I rolled onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. I listened as Caveman laughed to himself as he read the letter and said something to himself as he set it down. I pointed as I said, "There's some paper in that notebook if you want to write back." He smiled his thanks as he ripped a piece of paper out of the notebook and began to write. I glanced up and saw Zero standing over Caveman's shoulder, a quizzical look on his face.

"I don't like it when people read over my shoulder," Caveman said politely as he looked over at Zero.

Zero slowly shook his head and stated, "I can't read."

I sat up abruptly at this. Not read? How's someone not able to read all the way up until this age? I knew better than to ask, even I know when it's rude to say something. I may be a badass girl, but I knew when to keep my mouth shut…ten percent of the time. This is one of those times.

"Can you teach me?" He questioned. Caveman and I remained silent as we looked at each other in uncertainty.

"I…can't teach. I'm sorry," Caveman said apologetically before he left my tent. Zero turned to look at me.

"I guess I can try," I said with a shrug. He let a smile shine through before leaving the tent. I got up and walked over Shorty's cot, where Caveman had left his letter. I sat down on the edge and picked up the letter. Being the curious girl I was, I read through it a couple of times. I didn't realize I was crying until tear drops made the ink start to run. I put the letter down next to me and let out a quivering breath as I wiped my eyes with the bottom of my t-shirt.

"Hey, are you ok?" Squid asked as he hesitated towards the tent. I turned my head and wiped away the last of my tears. The last thing I needed was for him to see me in my most vulnerable state.

"Yeah, I just…I'm fine," I responded without looking at him. "What do you want?" I asked, adding harshness to my voice.

"Short sent me to talk to you," he responded as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"I don't want to talk to you!"

"Ok. I'll just wait here until you do," he said with a shrug as he crossed the tent and sat on my cot, resting his chin in his hands as he looked at me. After a while of silence and the annoyed feeling that was rising in me I shouted, "STOP STAIRING AT ME!"

"Ha. I knew I could get you to talk," he said with a satisfied grin. "Usually I can't get you to shut up."

"You tricked me," I stated as I let out a sigh and laid back on Shorty's bed.

"So…what was the letter about?"

"I all ready told you. Sexual harassment...although I did nothing to him, that bastard!"

"Watch your language! A girl like you shouldn't curse," Squid said as he shook his finger as he smiled teasingly. I scoffed and rolled my eyes but smiled a little.

"Why do you have to be so up in my face?"

"Because if I'm not, who else will be able to annoy you as well as I do?"

**-Normal POV-**

Icy grabbed Shorty's pillow and threw it hard. It hit Squid in the face and landed in his lap. He just shook his head before his smile faded and he looked at Icy.

"What're you looking at me like that for?" Icy asked getting annoyed again.

"How old are you?" He suddenly asked.

"Why do you wanna know?"

"We can play a game. A Game of Truths. We ask each other questions and we have to answer truthfully," he responded before rolling onto his stomach.

"How do we know if the other person lies?" Icy asked. "We could always play 'I Never'. It's a lot easier. And we can get the rest of the guys to play. That way we can get to know each other better."

"Either way, I get to weasel something out of you," Squid said as he flicked her on the forehead as he stood and started to leave the tent.

"_Don't touch me!_" Icy growled in a half angry half amused voice as she jumped off the cot. She ran out of the tent after him and jumped onto his back.

"Get offa me, you freak!" Squid cried as he tried to get the thrashing girl off his back.

"Who're you calling a freak, _Fish Boy_?"

"Fish Boy!? Oh, it's on now!"

"Am I interrupting something?" Magnet asked with a raised eyebrow and a smug look on his face. He had a towel draped over his bare shoulder and his short hair was still wet.

"No," Squid and Icy responded in unison before Squid dropped her onto the ground.

"But you can help me," Icy told him. "I need you to sneak into Mr. Sir's office and steal enough Coca-colas for all of us in D-Tent.

"What for?" Magnet asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's for a game," Icy responded. "And before you ask, it's not spin the bottle or something retarded like that. Can you do this for me?"

"Sure, it'll be easy," Magnet responded with a shrug. "See you later, chica."

"See ya, Mag. And thanks!"

A troubled look crossed her face as Glare and Shorty walked in their direction. Shorty smiled and ran over to Squid to give him a hug. He kneeled and hugged the small girl and started to tickled her as she laughed.

"Look guys, I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you," Icy said with a sigh. "I guess the heat and the digging and the stress got to me and I had to take it out on someone."

"Do you think we should forgive her?" Glare asked as he turned towards Shorty.

"Yeah…she never apologizes for anything she's done before." Shorty responded. Icy let out a sigh and ruffled her little sister's hair. She hugged her brother and he noticed that she had a genuine smile on her face.

After dinner D-Tent was gathered in, well, D-Tent. Magnet had placed the Coca-cola he swiped from Mr. Sire in the middle of the tent. They were all sitting down on the ground in a circle as Icy explained the rules.

"The game's real easy. Someone says they haven't done anything then the person who has done it, has to take a sip from the bottle. The last one with the glass full wins," she told them. "For example, and this is what's starting the game, I have never smoked a cigarette. The people who have have to take a sip."

She looked around the circle and watched with satisfaction as Squid, Zigzag, X-Ray and Magnet took a sip from their Coca-colas. A dreamy like look floated across their faces as they swallowed the carbonated drink.

"I havne't tasted something like that in a long time," Magnet said with a sigh.

"I can tell that the Coke is going to be like alcohol to them." Twitch said as he shook his head and drummed his fingers on the floor.

Shorty held her palm up to her mouth to stifle her giggle. Glare ruffled her hair as he waited for the other guys to calm themselves down. The game went on and on. They hid the Coca-Cola when Dr. Pendanski came by to tell them light's out, but they just ignored him until he left then they continued playing. X-Ray got eliminated first, then Twitch, the Caveman, Zigzag, Magnet, Armpit, Glare, and then Shorty so Squid and Icy were left.

"I've never kissed someone of the same gender," Squid said, eying the little bit og Coke Icy had left.

"What can I say? I love ya, sis," Icy said before taking a sip of her Coke. She looked at hers and compared it with her own. They were tied and she knew she had to think of a good question to get him to lose. "Hmmm…I have neverrrrrrrr…hmmmmm…I haver neverrrrrr…"

"Come on all ready! Just pick a general question and you'll win!" Shorty said with a yawn.

"I have neverrrr…been a BOY! HA! I WIN!" Icy cheered as she pumped her fists into the air.

"What about the time you disguised yourself as a guy to get into-whoops," Glare said as he covered his mouth.

"You little loser, you tried to trick me. Well, it is I who is victorious!" Squid said with a grin. "You know the consequences for lying. You have to tell us a secret. And it better be a good one." He leaned back until his back was resting on a cot. "How about you tell us who you're always taking pictures of with your camera?"

"She has a camera?" Armpit asked as he sat up.

"I knew there were spies sent to this camp!" Zigzag said as he looked at the Montgomerys with wide eyes.

"Relax before your eyeballs pop outta yer head," Icy told him. "And stop being so goddamn paranoid. Trust me on this, I'm not using it for something bad." She turned her attention back to Squid. "Now's your chance to ask me a personal question, Fish Boy. I know you've been trying to figure things out about our past, what's a better way than to ask someone who lived it?" She had a smug look on her face as she watched him scrunch up his face. "Careful, don't think too hard. I don't want you to die from brain injury. Who knows when the last time it has been used."

Glare looked at Shorty with a look of fear on his face. Shorty gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder as she set her blue and green eye on Icy's face. _'Maybe if he asks a good question, we don't have to hide anymore; don't have to run away from our past any longer. Maybe we can finally be accepted and feel safe even if we are stuck here for a while.'_ Shorty thought hopefully to herself.

"I got one," he said after a while. "Icy, why were you crying earlier today?" Silence fell throughout the tent at this question.

"Cry? Icy? Did he just use the words 'Icy' and 'cry' in the same sentence?" Glare asked in disbelief.

"Yeah he did," Twitch responded.

"But Icy never cries," Shorty said as she shook her head. "Nothing ever makes her cry. Except…"

"Except?" Squid prompted. "C'mon, you're the one who made the rules."

"Squid, if she doesn't want to talk, she doesn't have to," Magnet told him.

"It's all right Mag," Icy told him without looking up from her hands that she clenched into fists. "The only time I cry…is if I hear anything that has to do with other people's parents because it was _my_ fault that my mom died. We thought she died giving birth to Shorty, but our dad lied. She came that night to get us and take us with her. I was the one who told her to talk to dad. He was drunk at the time and he was trying to take a hit from a cigarette. I guess he accidentally dropped the lighter he was using. The next thing we knew, our mom was dead and we were stuck with our dad. Everything that has happened to us was all my fault and seeing or reading or hearing something that has to do with other people's parents remindes me that it was my fault we were sent here and that it's not fair that my siblings are here with me." Icy looked at her siblings and muttered "I'm sorry," before walking out of the tent.

**-Icy's POV-**

'_Goddammit, why'm I so emotional? Before I was sent here I was a badassed rebel. And now…I'm melting. I'm going soft. This can't happen to me. It's not supposed to happen to me! I'm not supposed to cry! I'm not…supposed to talk about my feelings and all that crap!'_

"Sooner or later you're going to have to stop running away," Squid said as he walked after me.

"Sooner or later you're going to have to stop stalking me!" I spat back as I continued walking towards my tent.

"You have to stop blaming yourself!" He added as he continued walking behind me.

"Alan, you don't know anything about me, all right? So stop trying to tell me what to do!" I hissed as I turned around and backslapped him across the face. He grabbed my left wrist with his left hand and squeezed it hard as he growled, "Never…EVER…hit me…like that…again." He brought up his right hand and slapped me across the cheek. My head snapped to the side as I felt the familiar sting shoot up my cheek. "Now will you listen to me?"

"Let go!" I hissed as I tried to pull my wrist away.

"Not until you listen!" He said sternly as he grasped my by my shoulders. "Whatever happened in your life is not your fault! You being abused is not your fault! It's your father's fault for doing this to you in the first place! You can't run away from your past because it's going to catch up with you sooner or later and you have to accept it! You can't go around blaming thins on yourself. You just have to go one with your life, one step at a time, no matter how hard it is."

I looked up at his face which was washed in the silvery moonlight. For the first time since I met him, he had a serious and a somewhat concerned look on his face. It didn't fit well with his whole rebel routine. _'He is just like you, Icy, by what Shorty says. Tough on the outside, sweet on the inside. Like a tootsie pop.'_

I shook my head as I tried t get out of his grasp but he held on tighter. He finally pulled me towards his chest as his arms wrapped around my waist. I stood stiff as I felt my heart racing in my chest and I listened to his beating. My breathing came out as if I had just finished running.

"It's not fair," I muttered as I rested my forehead against his chest.

"What's not fair?" He asked in an equally soft voice. It didn't seem to belong to him,yet to me it sounded right.

"Love was something denied to me for so long. Love, I always believed, was such a stupid word. But still, I had always wanted it." I repeated what I had said earlier that day as I shook my head before looking up at him. His head was slowly moving down towards mine as I lifted my head. "It's not fair. I'm not…supposed…to fall in love…"

"Life's not fair," he responded as he softly brushed his lips against mine. I could feel warmth spread through them. As I registered in my mind what had just happened I could feel myself gripping his arms tighter as I felt my eyes flutter closed. He was teasing a spot on my neck with his lips and his tongue. No matter how many times I got kissed like that before from Crimson, it never felt like it did now.

"Squid…stop," I said after I finally found my voice and gently pushed him away. I was shaking from head to toe and I didn't know why. _'What's wrong with me…?'_

"What's wrong?"

"I just…don't…want to get hurt…again."

"I'll never hurt you," he said as he rested his hands on my cheeks and locked eyes with mine. "I pomise," he added before leaning down and pressing his lips firmly yet softly against mine. I let out a tiny sigh as I melted into the kiss and wrapped my arms around his waist to pull him closer.

For the first time in my life I felt secure.


	10. Welcome To My Life

**Chapter Ten-Welcome to My Life**

"Wake up sleepy head," Icy muttered as she shook Shorty the next morning. She yawned and slid out of bed. Icy noticed that her eyes were brighter, back to normal and she had a familiar bounce in her step. "Why the hell're you so happy?"

"It's good to see you too, Sunshine," Shorty said with a roll of her eyes as she pulled on her boots. "And I'm happy because I'm not sick anymore."

"Don't think I'm not either," Icy said as she pulled her t-shirt over her head, pulling on the bottom of her light blue tank top. "I'm glad your back. I didn't really have anyone to talk to. But I'm still kind of bummed that I got you guys sent here." She grabbed a white t-shirt from her crate and pulled it on over her head. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and placed her dark hat on backwards on her head.

"Deal with it. I would've come if I had a choice anyway. You know us, we'd never leave you. We're always here for you," Shorty said as she brushed her hair then pulled it back into two pigtails that rested on her back.

"Yeah I know."

Shorty smiled up at her before they left the tent. Although she was tired, she always had a smile on her face. She greeted D-Tent cheerfully as they walked into the Mess Hall to eat breakfast before they ate.

"She's getting desperate," Glare pointed out as he shifted his hand holding the shovel that was resting on his shoulder. He was referring to the Warden and how she changed their digging schedules so they could spend more time digging.

"That definitely means she's looking for something," Shorty agreed as she struggled to carry her shovel. "God, I can't do this!" She shouted in frustration as she hit Zigzag in the side.

"Relax girl, I'll carry it for you," Zigzag said as he took the shovel from her.

"Thanks Ziggy."

He nodded and continued walking. He glanced back at them over his shoulder from time to time as Glare raised an eyebrow.

"I swear, he thinks that I'm an alien," Icy said in amusement as she shook her head.

"I wanted to know, how did you sneak that camera in here?" Glare asked her.

"I'm a girl with a bag full of 'feminine' things if you catch my drift."

"I got it," Glare responded as he made a face. Icy and Shorty laughed as he smiled. In his world, everything was back to normal and was right. He and his siblings were getting along again and that's all that he wanted. He didn't care that he was stuck in a hell hole, literally from the heat, and he didn't care that he had to dig holes almost all day everyday for months to come. Anyway, he got used to the heat and instead of getting sunburns, he got a tan and he got muscles from digging along with it. He made great friends with his tent mates and thought of them as his family. A weird family, but a family nonetheless.

But, out in the real world, he knew that he knew that he had to figure out a way to leave the camp. His family didn't belong there, even if Icy stole some things and killed some people. She did it to protect their family, right? And the first thing they need is protection because they don't have parents to do that for them. "I saw you yesterday," he added suddenly.

"I saw you too," Icy said in a sarcastic voice. "It's not hard to see you when we're trapped here."

"No, I meant yesterday," he said as he turned to look at her. "Last night actually. After the game…" he paused to let the words sink in. Icy's eyes narrowed then widened in understanding. "So are you guys together or what?" Icy just shook her head as he sighed. "You can't let this guy go. He likes you a lot; I can tell by the way he looks at you."

"You don't get it!" Icy suddenly said. "He was sent here for a reason. A bad one. Wouldn't surprise me if it was worse then ours. And he has a bad past of being abused and-"

"Well so do you," Shorty pointed out.

"Yeah, but in his past whenever he got hit he didn't fight back."

"So?"

"Well…I slapped him yesterday and he hit me back." Glare and Shorty both stopped walking and looked at her as she just stared back at them, eyebrows raised. "It's no big deal," she added quickly. "I just pissed him off. I have a bad habit of doing that." She added in a joking way. The flame of anger that burst in Glare's eyes didn't die down as he nodded slightly and continued walking.

The sun finally rose after about a half hour of digging. D-Tent was quiet than usual, only because more than half of them were still tired. More than once Armpit had to throw his canteen at the shovel Squid was leaning against to wake him up. Shorty kept yawning and nodding off for a couple of seconds before she shook her head and continued to dig grumbling about child labor laws.

The water truck came by who knows how much later. Everyone climbed out of their holes and got in line: X-Ray at the front and Zero in the back. Shorty asked him why he let them push him around but Zero said nothing. He just let out a sigh. As the truck pulled away and D-Tent dropped back into their holes, Magnet asked, "Hey guys. You want some sunflower seeds?"

Cheers erupted through D-Tent as Magnet grabbed a handful, rolled up the top, and tossed it to X-Ray.

"Man, how did you get these without Mr. Sir seeing you?" Armpit asked

"Man, I can't help it; my fingers are like little magnets."

The bag traveled from X-Ray, to Armpit, to Squid, to Twitch, then to Zigzag. Zigzag rolled up the top and tossed it to Caveman, who made no effort to grab it. It landed in his hole and burst open, causing seeds to fly out and into his hole. He glanced up and saw that Mr. Sir was coming back and quickly tried to turn the earth over onto the sunflower seeds.

"Hello Mr. Sir," Icy said in a loud voice to capture Caveman's attention.

"It seems like you were just here," Shorty said though a fake smile.

"Time flies when you're having fun," Glare added. Icy and Shorty looked over at him and he looked back as if he were yelling 'WHAT!' if someone was staring at him.

"You Girl Scouts having fun?" Mr. Sir asked as he walked by everyone's holes. Zigzag and Squid watched him walking around and inspecting their holes as if he knew that they were hiding something. "SQUID!" He suddenly shouted, causing him to jump. "You eyeballin' me?"

"Wha?" Squid asked as he blinked.

"You eyeballin' me?"

"No. No Mr. Sir."

There was heavy silence between them before Mr. Sir muttered, "Get back to work," and moved on. He stopped next to Caveman's hole and looked down into it. "Looks like you found something Caveman."

"Oh, well, it's nothing really," Caveman stuttered.

"I'll be the judge of that. Bring it on up here." Caveman couldn't do anything but follow Mr. Sir's orders. He picked up the sunflower seed sack and handed it over to Mr. Sir. He dusted it off and glared at it before her glared at Caveman. "We'll see what the Warden has to say about this. Let's go."

Caveman got out of his hole and followed Mr. Sir to his truck. He sat down and wished that the time could be still as he felt the cool wind across his face. He hated that the ride was short but got out of the truck anyway. He knocked on the Warden's door and spat into his hand before he ran it through his hair. The Warden came to the door with an anxious look on her face.

"Come in, you're letting the cold out," she said as she ushered them inside. Caveman stepped into the cool room and looked around. He spotted WANTED posters about Kissin' Kate Barlow, the famous outlaw. "So what is it you have to tell me?" She asked as she looked at Mr. Sir.

"This boy here snuck into my truck and stole my sunflower seeds," he responded.

"I see. And that's why you brought him here?"

"Yes ma'am. But I think he was lying."

"I see." The Warden repeated. She turned to Caveman and asked as she pointed, "In that room, Caveman, there's a small flowered case. Could you bring that out here for me?" He hesitated but got the box for her. She thanked him and opened it. He looked inside and saw that it was a normal make up box. It was filled with nail polish, nail polish remover, lipstick, blush, and mascara. She held up a small jar of dark reddish liquid. "This is my special nail polish. Do you want to know the secret ingredient?" Caveman remained silent as she painted her nails with the special polish. "Rattlesnake venom. It's perfectly harmless…when it's dry." She turned to Mr. Sir and asked, "So you think he was the one who stole your sunflower seeds?"

"No," he responded. "He says he stole them but I think-"

He was interrupted by the Warden sticking him across the face. He stared at her for a couple of seconds before the venom sunk in and he started screaming and writhing in pain.

"I suggest you go back to your hole now," the Warden said turning to her. He didn't hesitate as he walked out of the house and back towards his hole.

"Hey Caveman!" Armpit called once he got closer. "You're still alive!"

"What'd the Warden say?" X-Ray asked.

"Nothing," he responded.

"Well, what'd she do to you?" Squid questioned.

"Nothing. She didn't do nothing." He was at his hole now and he was gazing down at it quizzically. He grabbed his shovel and stuck it in the hole to realize that it was in fact five feet deep. "Oh wow. Thanks you guys."

"It wasn't us," Magnet told him.

"Yeah, it was all Zero," Armpit agreed. Caveman walked over to Zero's hole and sat down on the edge. "I guess he likes to dig holes."

"He's a mole," Squid added. "I think he eats the dirt."

"Moles don't eat dirt," Shorty told him. "Worms eat dirt."

"Why'd you help me?" Caveman asked him.

"You didn't steal the sunflower seeds," Zero responded.

"So? Neither did you."

Zero paused before adding, "You didn't steal the shoes."

"You still learning to read?" Zero nodded as Caveman smiled. "Meet your co-teacher." Caveman held out his hand and Zero shook it before smiling a little. The rest of D-Tent exchanged confused looks before returning to digging. Caveman went back, spat in his hole, and walked off ignoring X-Ray's and Armpit's glares.

Caveman waited outside of Icy's tent after he took a shower and changed into his other set of clothes. Zero came up a couple of minutes ago and Icy just showed up. She had suggested they used her tent so no one would find out about them trying to teach Zero how to read. Caveman took out a piece of paper and wrote some letters of the alphabet onto to it and let Zero copy them. His handwriting was a little shaky, but readable.

"So, there are twenty-six letters in the alphabet," Icy told him.

"No…there's fifty-two," Zero corrected her.

"There's not fifty-two. It's twenty six."

"I know…twenty-six capitals…and twenty-six lower case. So…that's fifty-two"

Icy blinked before looking over at Caveman. He just shrugged as Zero continued to write on the paper.

"How'd you know that? Did you add?" Caveman asked.

Zero remained quiet.

"Did you multiply?" Icy questioned.

"That's just…how many there are," Zero responded without looking up from the paper. "You guys can give me ten letters a day, "he continued. "Five capitals and five smalls. After five days, I'll know 'em all. Except on the last day I'll have to do twelve."

Caveman and Icy stared at him in bewilderment. They didn't know he was that smart. That was because he never said anything, but they didn't think he was dumb like the rest of the guys of D-Tent did.

"Since you're all ready a fast digger Icy, I'll dig part of your hole, Caveman. Everyday for about an hour, then you guys can teach me for an hour. And since I'm a faster digger anyway, both holes will get done at about the same time and we won't have to wait for you."

"Ok," Icy and Caveman said in unison. As Icy watched Zero write some letters and help him correct, Caveman was thinking about his trip to the Warden's place. His thoughts traveled over to the gold tube and he tried not to gasp out loud. He had just realized where he had seen the tube before. It was a container of lipstick. His lips lightly formed the words 'Kissin' Kate Barlow' as he wondered if it could really be from the kissin' outlaw.

The next morning Caveman entered the Mess Hall with Zero and Icy right behind him. As they moved through the line they could hear Mr. Sir barking at people but they didn't know why. Caveman had to stop himself from flinching visibly when he saw Mr. Sir's face. Where the Warden had scratched him were three dark-purple jagged lines. They knew better than to say anything or to stare at him. He kept his eyes down as Mr. Sir put cereal into his bowl. Squid, being the ignorant boy that he was, took a look at Mr. Sir's face and asked in his southern drawl, "Whoa. What happened to yer face?"

There was a loud crash as Mr. Sir suddenly grabbed Squid by his collar and pulled him forward. His head was held against the oatmeal pot. Mr. Sir screamed, "Is there something wrong with my face, boy?"

"No." Squid gasped in fear. "No Mr. Sir."

Mr. Sir muttered incoherent words before shoving Squid back. He fell and hit his head against the leg of a table. As the room fell silent Mr. Sir glared at everyone before leaving the room. Zigzag held out a hand to Squid and he took it, greatful. He adjusted the cap that was on over his doo rag and acted like nothing happened. As D-Tent left for the lake they kept asking him about Mr. Sir's face, but he told them that he knew nothing about it.

A couple of feet away the Montgomerys were having their own conversation. Glare and Icy were trying to tell Shorty that she looked pale and that she shouldn't work hard. But she kept telling them that she had to, or risk getting into trouble with the crack head Pendanski, or worse, Mr. Sir. He seemed to be mad at Icy and Shorty more than any of them and they had now clue why.

"Shorty, I really think-" Glare started.

"Glare, stop it." Shorty said softly, yet firmly. "I'm fine, ok? Nothing's wrong with me. So stop worrying…although I know that's what you're best at."

Glare just smiled a little before jamming his shovel into the ground and lifting a spoonful of dirt. He was a lot stronger than the others were so that's why he could start his hole faster. But he slowed down when it came to having to widen his hole. The boys soon began a random conversation about TV shows that they used to watch as the sun started to rise. Icy could immediately feel the heat hit her face but ignored it as she tried to dig at a faster pace. Icy would glance over at her sister from time to time. Each time she would look Shorty would have a smile on her face or would whistle softly to herself.

"C'mon Shorty," Zigzag said as he lifted the small girl out of her hole and set her down on the ground. She stumbled a little but regained her balance once Zigzag held her up by a hand gently pressing on her shoulder. "You ok?"

"Yes! Stop asking me all ready!" She growled as she stomped up to Pendanski.

"Hello Maxine," he said as he nodded to her and handed her her lunch bag.

"Bite me, crack head!" She growled before snatching the bag out of his hand and returning to her hole.**  
**

"All right. What's bothering you, Shorty?" Squid asked as he sat down next to her by her hole.

"Shouldn't you be with your girlfriend right now?" She asked bitterly before biting into her apple. She made a face but continued chewing it.

"No, because I want to talk to you,"

"About what?"

"What's been bothering you lately?" Squid looked at her long and hard before continuing. "You aren't that happy girl I met when you first came here."

"Things change. People change once you get to know them."

"But not you."

"How would you know?"

"Remember how I told you about my sister?"

"Yeah. So?"

"I got a letter from her today."

Shorty looked over at him as he silently handed her the letter. She put down her apple and peeled back the envelope sealing that's been torn open. She pulled out yellow lined paper and began to read.

_Dear Alan_

_How long has it been since we last talked? It's been too long, that's what. I miss your voice. Sometimes I wake up scared in the middle of the night became I don't remember anything about you. Then mom and Duke go on these rampages and I remember you well. You're lucky you got out although you were sent to a juvenile detention facility. Sometimes I have to restrain myself from stealing something so I wouldn't go there too. I have to be strong like the angel you said I was._

_School is going great for me; I made the gymnastics team and the dance team. You know how much I love to do both. Now I can use them both together. I wish you were here so you can see my medals and my trophies. But you'll have to find them first. Mommy and Duke hid them somewhere. They don't want me to find them. That's the only I have left to keep me going, besides a picture of you. Sometimes I want to end it all, the pain and the suffering. But, you still need me and I still need you. I'm your angel and you're mine._

_I love you and I miss you and I wish you would come home soon and save me._

_Love,_

_Ally  
_

_P.S. Tell me everything about Camp Green Lake. It can't be worse than things here._

Shorty put the letter back and handed it back to him. Words that she had told him for some reason were repeating in her head.

"_If you like something that much, go for it. There's nothing you can lose."_

"_If you like something that much, go for it. There's nothing you can lose."_

"_If you like something that much, go for it. There's nothing you can lose."_

"Squid, I need to tell you something…important," she suddenly said as she clasped her hands together and she started to kick her legs back and forth against the side of her hole as he put the letter back in his pocket.

"What is it? By that tone of voice, you're starting to worry me."

"You know what I told you before? '_If you like something that much, go for it. There's nothing you can lose.' _Remember that?"

"Yes…why?"

"Well…you see…Squid, I…" Shorty's voice trailed off as her eyes suddenly got wide and her mouth dropped open. Her breath came out in short gasps as her face paled and beads of sweat appeared on her upper lip. She let out a shuddering breath before her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fell sideways onto the ground.

"Guys. GUYS! SOMETHING"S WRONG WITH SHORTY!" Squid yelled as he jumped up. Zigzag ran over ad dropped down to her side. He shook her and then pressed two fingers underneath her neck.

"Her pulse is faint," he said as he looked up at D-Tent.

"Someone has to run back at get Pendanski," X-Ray told them.

"I'll go," Icy said as she backed away with shaky legs.

"No, you stay here." Squid told her. "I'll go." Without saying another word he took off running across the lake.

"Not again." Glare whispered as a tear escaped his cheek.

"Glare," Icy asked softly. "What if she doesn't survive this time? What will we do?"

"I don't know Icy. I don't know."


	11. A Family Divided

**Chapter Eleven-A Family Divided**

"Glare, you have to stop blaming yourself," Icy said as she looked at him. He was sitting on Shorty's cot with his head in his hands. They had just watched Shorty being transported to the hospital and Glare was a wreck ever since she had left. They had finished digging and went straight to Icy's tent.

"But I should've made her stay in the tent. I knew there was something wrong with her," he responded without looking at his twin.

"She's related to _me_, remember?. You should've known Shorty wouldn't listen to you if she had the choice," Icy said in a joking tone.

"It's not funny."

"I'm not laughing."

Glare sighed as he continued to hold his face in his hands. Icy crossed her arms as she leaned against the side of the tent, a bored look on her face. Silence stretched between the two as time slowly crawled by. The sounds of laugher came form the Wreck Room as they heard the faint creak of the door opening and then closing.

"I'm going to say this again, to make sure you heard me," Icy said after a while. "You have to stop blaming yourself. It isn't your fault that she's like this."

"Yeah," Glare muttered as he removed his head from her hands and brushed his black hair away from his green eyes. "It's yours."

"_My fault_!?" Icy cried out. "How's this _my_ fault?"

"_You're_ the one who got us sent here!"

"Get over it, _Matthew_!"

"I can't, _Mackenzie_! If you hadn't joined that stupid gang in the first place – "

"_It was a mistake!_"

"I'm betting your life is full of those." Glare said with a sneer and an eye roll.

"You think I like my life the way it is?" Icy hissed as her face contorted to a look of anger. "You think I like being blamed for everything just because I got us sent here? You think I like being a human punching bag to our dad? You think I like being put down just because, compared to you and Shorty, I'm Satan? You think I like being singled out as a human threat?" She paused, expecting Glare to answer, but he just looked down at his hands. Taking the silence as an answer, Icy continued. "God dammit, Glare! You think ever since mom died that everything that happens to us is my fault! I wouldn't be surprised if you blamed _me_ for mom's death – "

"You blamed yourself!" Glare yelled as he looked up at her.

"Didn't mean you had to agree with me!" Icy shot back. "News flash, bro, dad started hitting me after Shorty was born!"

"No, dad starting hitting you once he realized how much you look like mom!"

"And you're blaming _me_ for that!? How low can you get?"

"Not much, compared to you," he responded as he stood and towered over her, Over the days, weeks, months, however long they were there, Glare had grown and now was taller than his twin by a good couple of inches. Although he was taller and he glared down at her, it didn't faze her and she gave back a glare that matched the intensity of his. A soft knock on the wood of the tent grabbed their attention.

"Am I interrupting something?" SpitFire asked as she looked back and forth between the twins.

"No, Mackenzie was just leaving," Glare responded as he gave Icy a hard look.

"Sure, kick me out of my own tent as you _try_ to flirt," Icy said with a smirk and an eye roll. "SpitFire, come and get me once you're done laughing. It may take a while though." She patted SpitFire on the shoulder and left the tent. Glare let out a big sigh before dropping down onto Shorty's cot.

"Did I catch you in the middle of an argument?" SpitFire asked.

"No…you caught us in the middle of a celebration!" Glare replied sarcastically without turning towards her.

"Don't get mad at me!"

"I'm not mad at you," he said as he pointed at the space next to him. SpitFire didn't say anything and silently sat next to him. "I'm mad at myself actually."

"For what?" She asked as she placed her hand onto of his. He smiled and turned his hand over, intertwining their fingers.

"Letting Shorty dig in the hot sun, I guess. I mean, I knew she _seemed_ sick and all, but…"

"She'll be fine, Glare," SpitFire said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"How do you know?" He asked as she rested his head on top of hers

"I just do."

"Awwwwww," Smirk said as he walked into the tent. "It's about time you two got together." He shook his head and pointed an accusing finger at SpitFire. "You know how annoying she was? She kept asking me 'Why doesn't Glare like me?' and 'Why can't he see the way I fell about him?' and blah blah blah!"

"Shut up, Smirk!" SpitFire shouted without moving. He walked around the cot and stood in front of her with his hands on his hips as he slowly shook his head and made a clicking sound with his tongue.

"Too afraid to _finally_ admit your feelings to a guy when your brother is standing here. And I thought you were tough."

"_Shut up!_" SpitFire hissed, ignoring the smile that was on Glare's face as he gave her hand a squeeze. "Now that I won't _bother_ you anymore, you can try and go for Icy like you wanted to."

"Unfortunately, he can't do that," Glare told her.

"Why not?" Smirk and SpitFire asked in unison.

"Because she's seeing that Squid guy from my tent," Glare responded. "I wish she wouldn't though. I don't trust him."

"You don't even know him that well," SpitFire pointed out.

"That's exactly _why_ I don't trust him. I don't know how she does, or how Shorty does for that matter."

"I don't want to…hurt your sister in anyway, but if you feel that way, just tell her to stop seeing him," Smirk told him.

"There's another thing, she's been avoiding him so I can't say they're technically dating."

"Well, then you're worried about nothing."

A troubled look crossed Glare's face but he didn't say anything. Smirk and SpitFire said something about having to leave but Glare didn't respond, even when SpitFire kissed him. Once she left, he let a small smile shine through, but it disappeared in an instant.

'_I can't be happy. Shorty was the only one who made me genuinely happy and now she's gone. This is all Icy's fault.'_

"Can I have my tent back?" Icy asked as she walked in.

"Where were you?" Glare demanded as he stood.

"Why do you care?"

"I have a right to know."

"And I have a right to not tell. Something's bothering you because you usually never pry into my personal life."

"Since when did your life become personal?"

Icy stayed silent as she looked her brother in the eye. She let out a breath before saying, "I was with Zero, if you must know."

"Zero? Why?" Glare asked as he blinked.

"You wouldn't understand," she responded as she brushed by him.

"Try me," he said as he grabbed her arm.

"You wouldn't understand," she repeated as she jerked her arm away.

"What's happened to us?" Icy turned and looked at her twin to see a far away look in his jade green eyes. "What's happened to us?" He repeated. "We used to be so close, now…we're always at each other's throats."

"It's like Shorty said, 'You stick someone you know if a different environment and they change.' Or something like that."

"But…I don't want us to change."

"It's too late for that,' Icy told him sternly. "If you're afraid of me changing, look in a mirror, because you all ready changed yourself."

The boys of D-Tent noticed how quiet the twins were and thought that it had to do with Shorty. Only Zero and Caveman knew why they weren't talking to each other that much anymore. They also seemed to drift apart: Glare would hang out with X-Ray and Magnet, if not Smirk and SpitFire, and Icy would be with Squid and Zigzag if not Caveman and Zero. The rest of D-Tent knew better than to ask what was going on and just let things be for a while.

"Hey Icy…are things ok between you and your brother?" Twitch asked as he held onto his shovel. Icy stared at him and Twitch fidgeted under her stare. "I-I'm sorry. I-I shouldn't have a-asked."

"It's all right, Twitchy," Icy told him with a reasurring smile. "We're just…having our differences right now."

"Oh," he said simply. He paused and asked, "Did you just smile."

"No." Icy said as her smile faded instantly.

"I think you diiid," he said in a sing-song voice as he grinned.

"No I didn't. Maybe the heat is playing tricks on you."

"Maybe…"

Icy slapped her hand over Twitch's visor and it slammed down over his eyes. He grinned as he lifted the visor back up, despite being slightly aggravated by her. Icy stuck out her tongue and he made a face back. Behind them Squid was glaring daggers at Twitch's back.

**-Squid's POV-**

"You look like you want to kill him," Zigzag pointed out as he pulled on his gloves.

"I don't like that kid," I grumbled as I tied my doo rag over my brown hair.

"Why not? He hasn't done anything to you," Zigzag pointed out. "It's the nice ones you have to look out for. He could sneak up behind you while you're in the shower and it will be that scene in _Psycho_ with that psychotic music and the screaming and the stabbing…man, I loved that movie."

"Focus!" I yelled as I snapped in Zigzag's face.

"Why're you so worked uo by Twitch talking to her?"

"What if she leaves me for him?"

"What do you mean 'leaves you'? You aren't her boyfriend."

"Yes I – "

"Did she talk to you?"

"No – "

"So that means anyone has a shot at her. If she doesn't talk to you soon, or the other way around, I could try to go for her myself. I mean, she is cute." I turned and glared at Zigzag as he looked back in honesty innocence. "What?"

"Don't…talk about her like that to me."

"She isn't your property, Squid." Zigzag said as he brushed by me. I blinked before racing to catch up with him. If I wasn't talking to Zigzag, I constantly glared at the back of Twitch's head. Constantly Zigzag told me that my eyes would be stuck in the glare if I kept looking at Twitch like that. Being my stubborn self, I ignored him as I started to dig. Twitch's and Icy's laughter started to bother me as I clenched my teeth and gripped my shovel tighter.

Twitch and Icy hanging out didn't bother me as much as the fact that Zero was digging Caveman's hole! How did he get a hole digger? He doesn't deserve one! He hasn't been here as long as the rest of us have. He should toughen it out. Apparently X thinks so too, he just talked to Caveman about it and he didn't seem very happy. I wiped the sweat off of my forehead with the hem of my t-shirt before pulling it over my head. I was risking getting skin can-can…or whatever the heck it was, but I didn't care. I jumped as a finger was traced lightly down my back.

"I'd put your shirt back on unless you want everyone else in the tent to know about _that_ part of your past," Icy stated as I whirled around. Her eyes were squinted slightly and her hands were in her pockets.

"It wouldn't be the first thing I kept from someone I trusted," I stated as I continued to dig.

"Are you talking about me?"

"No, I'm talking _to_ you."

"You may be talking to me, but you were hinting that you were talking _about_ me." She paused and asked, "What's going on, Squid? You're either not talking to me or, when you do, you're glaring at me. Did I do something wrong?"

I stuck my shovel in the ground and rested my arm against it as I turned to look at her. She didn't flinch even when I glared at her, probably because she couldn't see it easily from the sun. I shook my head slowly and went back to digging.

"You're doing it again."

"I think I have a right to," I said as I stuck my shovel in the ground and turned to face her once more. "I mean, my girlfriend is flirting with one of my…er…acquaintances."

"For one thing, I don't flirt with Twitch," Icy started. "For another, I never said I was your girlfriend." There was something about the way she said that that resembled me getting shot. The pain felt the same and by the look on her face I could tell she knew how I felt. "…but I'd like to give it a try." I tilted my head and stared at her hard as if she didn't say anything. She was rocking back and forth on her feet as she gazed at me, biting her lip. "Are you going to say something?"

"No, I'm going to keep making you stir up in your insecurities."

"Why?"

"Because you look cute like that," I said with a laugh as I leaned over and kissed her cheek. A blush formed across her cheeks a she tried to hide a smile. My mom used to say that a smile is the best gift I could ever receive, and right now I thought that she was right. I loved Icy's smile.

"I don't take flattery that well."

"Not modest?"

"Never been flattered."

"Well, there's a first time for everything I guess."

Icy kicked dirt into my hole before walking back to hers. I shook my head as I smiled and continued to dig my hole. Feeling my skin starting to bur, I pulled my shirt back on over my head and noticed that the lunch truck had arrived. I climbed out of my hole and grabbed my lunch. As I walked back with Zigzag, he suddenly took a detour and walked to Caveman's hole.

"Hey Caveman," Zigzag said as he kicked Caveman's boot. "I'll give you my cookie if you let me dig your hole." I laughed a little as I watched Caveman's expression. He remained cool as he said, "I get it. I'll dig my hole from now on."

"He doesn't want the cookie," Zigzag said as he glanced towards me. He knelt down and shoved the cookie in Caveman's face. "C'mon, eat the cookie." Caveman shoved Zigzag's hand away and Zigzag shoved him. I know I don't know Ziggy that well, but I do know that he hates being shoved. "Don't shove me!" Zigzag snapped as Caveman tried to get up. Zigzag shoved him again and repeated, "Don't shove me."

"Dude," I started, but I knew it was a lost cause. Once Zigzag gets mad, he goes crazy and it's hard to calm him down. Next thing I knew Ziggy and Caveman were wrestling. Then there was this battle cry and Zero was chocking Zig! I didn't know the little dude had it in him! Soon Armpit was trying to get them to stop but Mom got them to stop by firing his shotgun into the air. The Warden came soon and made our tent stand around waiting as she inspected our faces, as if we were automatically going to start talking.

"What happened here?" She finally asked.

"Well, Ziggy was beating up on the Caveman, and Zero started chocking him. I had to get him offa him," Armpit explained.

"Why was Zigzag beating up Caveman?" the Warden asked.

"He just got a little hot," X-Ray explained. "The heat makes you do crazy things."

"Yeah, I just got a little hot working in the sun all day, when Caveman sits around here doing nothing," Zigzag agreed.

"Excuse me? Caveman digs his hole like everyone else."

"Sometimes."

"Ex-_cuse­ _me."

"Ma'am," I interrupted as I pulled my toothpick out of the corner of my mouth and held it in between my thumb and index finger. "Zero's been digging part of Caveman's hole everyday.

"I'm teaching him how to read," Caveman confessed.

"What?" the Warden, Mr. Sir, and Pendanski asked in unison.

"He's a smart kid."

"Smart!?" Pendanksi cried out with a laugh. He turned to Zero and asked, "What does c-a-t spell?" Zero stayed silent as he glared up at Pendanski. "See? He's so stupid, he doesn't even know how stupid he is!"

"All right, I don't want anyone else digging someone else's holes!" the Warden announced.

"I'm not digging anymore holes," Zero announced.

"Good. Now I don't want you teaching him how to read either!"

"You're better off teaching this shovel how to read," Pendanski said as he grabbed the shovel that was leaning against Zigzag and held it out to Zero, who took it in his small hang. "D-I-G. What's that spell?" Zero slowly put down his canteen as he looked back and forth between the shovel and Pendanski. The he gripped it tighter and hit Pendanski across the face with it!

"DIG!" Zero declared before he started running; Icy and Caveman cheering him on.

"Whoa," Zigzag and I muttered in unison as Mr. Sir ran around and the Warden barked out orders as she poured Zero's water over Pendanski's face to wake him up. She growled to Caveman, "I still expect eleven holes."

**-Normal POV-**

Grumbling, Icy rolled out of her cot and sat down on the edge of it. Sighing, and without thinking, she went to her crate, pulled out her clothes, and stuffed them into her backpack. After hearing Dr. Pendanski talking to the Warden and Mr. Sir about Zero, she's been missing him a lot more than her own sister. Icy felt ashamed, but knew she had a better chance of finding Zero than Shorty. Glancing out the tent flaps she saw that there was silvery moonlight on the ground. Now she had light to go by when she escaped.

"Where are you going?"

Icy jumped at the voice and whirled around. Squid was standing in the doorway with a troubled look on his sleepy face. His hair was messed up and he was rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"What're you doing up?" Icy hissed as she hid her backpack behind her back.

"I heard noises. I thought Mr. Sir was in here to rape you or something."

"As if he'd be able to touch me."

"You never answered my question. Where are you going?" Squid peered down at her as she shuffled her feet. He narrowed his eyes as he asked, "You're going after him, aren't you?"

"I have to, Squid," Icy responded in a hoarse voice as she lifted her backpack onto her shoulders.

"You'll die out there."

"Chances are I'll die here too. Not much of a difference."

"But…I'll miss you too much," he said in a childish voice as she started to walk past him. He wrapped his arms around he waist and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I don't want you to go."

"I told you, I have to."

"If I didn't know any better I'd say you care about him more than me. I _am_ your boyfriend, you know." He said as he gently rocked her from side to side.

"I know. But, because of Shorty, I have a soft spot for kids. If I see them treated badly I have to do something about it. I hope you understand."

"I guess I do," he whispered into her ear before kissing her neck. He softly massaged one area with his tongue, feeling every one of her heartbeats in the process. She couldn't take the teasing anymore. She lifted her head and moved her mouth to his and kissed him deeply. She gently pulled away as he said to her cheek, "I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too," she said with a sigh as she pulled away from him and turned to look at his face. "Do me a favor…tell Glare not to worry about me. I'll be fine. If I don't come back in three days…then you can worry."

Squid nodded as Icy gave a small wave and turned and left the tent. He could hear her rapid footsteps as she ran down the dirt path. He stared out at the bright ground and waited a couple of minutes before he started walking out of the tent. He stopped when something wet dripped down his cheek.

It was something that he hadn't felt in a while.

It was a tear…


	12. Suspicions Are Confirmed

**Chapter Twelve-Suspicions Are Confirmed**

**-Glare's POV-**

I woke up the next morning with my heart beating at an unusual rate. I took deep breaths to calm myself and wiped the sweat off of my forehead. I had a dream that Shorty had collapsed in the sun. It was like what had happened before and I figured out that it had to do with heat exhaustion. But Shorty had died in my dream and that alone scared me into waking up.

Bringing my knees to my chest, I rested my forehead on my knees. Something inside me knew something was wrong with one of my sisters, if not both. I didn't know how Shorty was doing because a letter hasn't been sent to me yet. Yawning, I turned my head to see Squid sitting up on his cot

"You all right, dude?" I asked as I rested my cheek on my arms and held my gaze on him.

"Mhm," he responded without looking at me. I continued looking at him because I knew he wanted to say something.

"What is it?"

"What?"

"You want to tell me something."

"How do you know?"

"I can read your mind," I replied causally with a shrug. He didn't say anything as he ran a hand through his brown hair. "Fine, don't tell me. Don't worry, I won't read your mind, it's too small for me to see into because everything is packed in and complex. I'll just find out what you want to tell me on my own." I stood and stretched as I started to make my way out of my tent.

"Where are you going?" He hissed so he wouldn't wake anyone up.

"I'm going to check on my sister," I replied as if it were obvious. I had one foot out of the tent before I was yanked back inside. "What is the matter with you? I'm not afraid to hurt you?"

"Do you know who you're messing with?" Squid hissed as his grip on my wrist tightened. "I was in a gang for most of my life. I could kill you right now if I wanted. And I checked your files, you can't do anything worthy of hurting me _that_ badly!"

I pulled my arm out of his grasp and glared at him. He held my gaze with a glare of his own, but something was hidden behind his glare.

Concern.

I sighed and crossed my arms as I asked with narrowed eyes, "Where is she?"

As if knowing what I was asking he replied, "She went after Zero."

I just nodded as I looked down at my watch and went back into the tent. I changed into my other jumpsuit and white t-shirt and left the tent right as Dr. Pendanski came up. I could hear the rest of the tent groaning as he shoved them out of their cots or pulled their blankets off of them. I expected him to check on my sisters tent but he didn't. He just went to Mr. Sir's office. I frowned as I watched him walk into the office and slam the door shut.

"That's odd," I murmured.

"What's odd?" Magnet asked as he came out behind me.

"Zigzag is, but we all knew that," I responded without a hint of jokingness in my voice. "Pendanski didn't check on my sisters' tent. He usually does. That's really strange."

"Maybe Icy's sick." Magnet said with a yawn before he headed towards the Mess Hall.

"Or maybe he knows that Icy's not there," Zigzag's southern drawl suddenly filled my ears. I jumped, turned around, and looked up to see the seriousness on his face.

"How would he know though?" I questioned.

"Cameras?" Squid suggested as he stepped out of the tent and stood behind them.

"I thought you s-said there were no c-c-cameras here." Twitch commented as he stepped out behind Squid.

"Not cameras from the Warden, but my sister's camera." I pointed out as I slowly rubbed my chin.

"What're you getting at?" Squid asked me.

"Just go on to the Mess Hall. I'll explain everything in a bit," I responded before running to my sisters' tent. I looked around and saw that everything Icy had was gone but all of Shorty's stuff was there. I went through Shorty's things, praying, and felt my hand brush something smooth. I pulled it out and grinned before running back to the Mess Hall. I slid onto the bench and waited until X-Ray, Magnet, Armpit, and Caveman weren't paying attention. "This is Icy's digital camera."

"We know that it's hers, what does it have anything to do with anything?" Squid demanded.

"Patience, my young padawan," I said as I rolled my eyes.

"Did you just insult me?" He growled through clenched teeth as his eyes narrowed.

"No…Anyway, the only time I see her with this is when we're in the Wreck Room. She couldn't have used that much memory of pictures all ready."

"What's your p-point?" Twitch asked.

"Well, when Shorty got sick the first time I noticed that Dr. Pendanski had a camera exactly like this one," I continued as if I didn't hear him. "But the only thing I noticed him taking pictures of was my sisters."

"This guy c-could be a r-r-rapist escapee from j-j-jail!" Twitch gasped.

"And the Warden would make him work here?" Squid demanded.

"Well, he's taking pictures of your girlfriend and her sister, What else do you gut of it beside that the guy has a messed up mind'?"

"Maybe he has a good reason," I interrupted, ignoring the fact that Twitch had called my sister Squid's girlfriend. I don't know why I hated hearing her being called that. "I noticed that every time Dr. Pendanski came by for water he would give it to them. But when it was Mr. Sir, he wouldn't. Maybe that's how Shorty's sickness got triggered again."

"It seems to me like the Warden is trying to get rid of the girls in this camp," Zigzag said slowly.

"But why?" Twitch asked.

"So we can go back to having our attention on digging instead of the girls that are here." I responded as it suddenly dawned on me. "That must be it! But we don't have any proof."

"Yes we do. That camera is full of proof," Twitch said as he nodded towards it.

"Only the pictures that Icy had taken are here," I said as I looked down and scrolled through them all. I made faces at some of them but kept going.

"But we can use this to our advantage. I have a plan," Zigzag announced.

"Something about you saying those words makes a chill run down my spine," Squid told him. "I can tell we're going to get in trouble, but I'm up for this."

"M-Me t-too," Twitch agreed.

I nodded as a feeling of amazement washed over me. I didn't think I'd ever become friends with juvenile delinquents. I always figured they'd ignore me because I didn't' even do anything. But now I realize that I could make friends with anyone, even if they made many mistakes. We went out to dig holes like usual. I seemed to dig faster as I felt my heart beat in my chest. The day seemed to go by faster as I seemed to have more strength than before.

The only interesting thing that happened was Caveman, with Twitch's help, started to drive away! He drove into a hole instead but got out unharmed and then went running through the desert. We all cheered him on, knowing that he would be going to find Zero also. If she wasn't dead, he'd meet up with Icy eventually and she is good at helping people heal. If they do find Zero, and if he is hurt, they can bring him back when he is back in good health.

"When're we going to put our plan into action?" Twitch asked as we walked over to the Water Truck with the other tents to try and pull it out of the hole.

"Later…when it's not as hot outside. You don't know what this heat can do to you," I told him as I gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll have evidence soon enough."

"Evidence for what?" SpitFire asked as she walked up to me.

I gave her a brief kiss before responding, "Don't worry about it. It's not that important. We're just trying to frame someone in my tent for fun. No big deal."

"If you're sure," she said uncertainly. "Gotta go. See you in the Wreck Room."

I nodded and moved to the side of the truck as I waited for Mr. Sir's instructions. Basically all we had to do was grip the truck, lift, and try to pull it out. Talk about child labor. Even with every tent helping we couldn't get it out. It was heavier because of the water tank that was still almost completely full that was built into the back.

Mr. Sir gave us the rest of the day off, which gave me more time to put my plan into action. Squid, Zigzag, Twitch, and I waited until everyone had entered the Wreck Room before we left. We spotted Dr. Pendanski and Mr. Sir walking towards the Warden's cabin so we followed them. We stayed far back so we could still hear them talking but they couldn't see us out of the corner of their eyes. We crouched below the open window and slowly pulled ourselves up until our eyes were level with the window pane.

"So you're telling me that Icy has run away?" The Warden demanded as Mr. Sir and Dr. Pendanski sat down.

"Yes ma'am," they responded in unison.

"That's one less girl I have to worry about now," she muttered under her breath. "And Zero and Caveman are gone too?"

"Yes."

"Did you check their files? To make sure no one will come for them?"

"Zero was a ward of the state. No one cares about him and no one wants him. Caveman has family, but they wouldn't come here. And – " Dr. Pendanski started.

"And Icy and Shorty, the only family they have is their brother…for now. They'll be gone soon enough. Shorty from dehydration and Icy from heat stroke. This is what the Attorney General gets for sending girls here when I told them that I didn't want them here distracting the boys." The Warden interrupted him as she paced the room.

"So she _is_ trying to get rid of the girls!" Squid whispered.

"Distracting us can't be the only reason," I whispered back. "My sisters and I think that she's using us to find something."

"Caveman used to say the same thing. It sounded stupid coming out of her mouth, but coming out of yours it makes a lot of sense."

"Well, I think – "Zigzag started.

"Duck!" Twitch hissed as he dropped to the ground. Squid, Zigzag, and I quickly did the same. I held my breath as I waited for the feeling of fear to drain from me. Once it was gone I raised myself to the window and turned to see the Warden holding up three folders. I zoomed in with the digital camera and took pictures. I checked the screen to see if I got what I needed.

"We're good! Let's go!" I hissed as I crawled away from the window and began to run back to the tent. They followed me and we didn't say anything until we were back in our tent, hands on our knees, panting heavily. "I think we got the proof we need."

"There's just one problem," Zigzag stated. "How're we going to get the pictures from the camera, to someone who'll look at them."

"You're smart, you figure that out," Squid told him. Zigzag scrunched up his face as he thought. We all looked at him as the seconds dragged by. His face scrunched up even more before he held his head and groaned in pain. "Don't hurt yourself!"

"That will only happen when you _try_ to think, Squid," Twitch told him.

"Wait!" Zigzag suddenly yelled. "They had paper!"

"So?" I questioned.

"So…that must mean they have a printer, and a printer means a computer!"

"And that means…"

"We can finally check the mail that has been backed up on us for a while?" Squid interrupted.

"No, you moron! It means we can upload these pictures onto the computer and get help from there!" I responded.

"I don't know, I _do_ have a lot of mail I need to reply to that I've been putting off for a while," Zigzag said thoughtfully.

"Get over it, man! We don't need to all go, I need someone to come with me and keep a lookout." I said as I looked up at them. "So, who's it going to be?"

---

"Don't take too long," I whispered as I pulled open the Warden's window quietly.

"Why do _I_ have to do this? They're your sisters!" Squid hissed.

"Yeah, well, you won't leave one of them alone! And besides, you're great at breaking and entering."

"That's exactly why I got sent here! _I got caught!_"

"_Breaking into your own house_! Do you want to help my sisters or what? I won't be able to stand it if I lost all of the girls that meant something to me because I couldn't do anything about it!"

Squid growled under his breath before grabbing the window sill and sliding inside on his stomach. He rolled over and landed on his back with a loud thud. He stayed silent to hear if the Warden was coming but didn't hear anything. He silently went over to the computer and turned it on. He quickly uploaded the pictures and sent off an e-mail to the hospital that Shorty was staying at before he pulled the camera's USB cord out of the camera. His hand smashed into something and it fell to the floor, creating a loud noise. Eyes wide, he frantically grabbed the camera and, not caring if he crashed into anything, made it back towards the window. He slid back through it and landed on the ground. Pulling me to my feet he yelled, "RUN!"

We sprinted back to the tent just as Dr. Pendanski came in a couple of seconds after saying that we had to go to bed. Twitch and Zigzag gave us expectant stared and I nodded slightly as I pulled my t-shirt off over my head and grabbed my pajama shirt.

"How do you think Caveman is doing?" Armpit suddenly asked.

"Maybe he's alive," X-Ray responded.

"Nah, man, he's buzzard food," Squid said as he made a strange sucking noise with his mouth.

"Man, that's sick!" Armpit said as he threw his pillow at her.

"I heard the Attorney General is coming," Magnet said, interrupting the silence that had settled on us as he climbed into our cots.

"What's he coming for?" I asked as I tried to stifle a yawn.

"He's coming with Caveman's lawyer. Supposedly, she found out that he was innocent from stealing Sweet Feet's shoes so she's coming to get him out."

"Lucky," I muttered. "If something like this ever happened to you, do you think that your parents would come and bail you out?"

"If they did, would we be here right now?" X-Ray asked in an aggravated voice.

"Mine would…if they cared about me," I whispered.

"Mine would…if my mom would stop drinkin' and my dad'll come home," Squid answered.

"Mine would…if they didn't think this was discipline," Twitch said in a tired voice.

"Mine would…if my dad didn't think I was so crazy," Zigzag said in a yawn.

"Mine would…if they wanted me back," Magnet responded as he rested his head on his pillow.

"Mine would…if they didn't think I was sent to a camp where I could lose weight," Armpit replied bitterly.

"Mine would…if they were blind to my faults," X-Ray's sleepy voice was the last thing I heard before they all drifted off to sleep.

'_So the Warden got Dr. Pendanski and Mr. Sir to try and kill all of the girls that were sent here against their own will. Just so she can get to something that is being searched for? I can't believe it. Shorty may be dead and I don't know it and my twin could be dead out there trying to find someone she might not even see for the rest of her life. I hope they're both all right. I wouldn't be able to stand losing them. Or SpitFire. It's a good thing I warned her about what Mr. Sir and Pendanski were doing. I definitely won't be able to keep living if I lost all three of them. God, if you're up there somewhere, keep them safe.'_


	13. One Last Hole: If Only…

**Chapter Thirteen-One Last Hole: If Only…**

"You're all right, Zero," Icy said as she gently rubbed his back as he threw up on the ground. Icy had found him underneath a boat in the middle of the lake. He had survived by drinking some type of peach juice. About two hours later Caveman had found them both and was happy to see that they weren't dead.

He had tried to convince them to go back but they had both refused. Zero had nothing for him there and Icy didn't want to go back just to argue with her brother and worry if her sister was dead. He had felt defeated and was about to go back himself when he saw it.

A strange rock formation that was sticking straight up in the sky.

It looked really familiar to him. He glanced at his hand and then looked back up at the rock formation. He knew what it was.

It was God's thumb.

Caveman has convinced them to seek refuge on God's thumb. Icy thought he was crazy but Zero thought it was a good idea. So, they took the empty jars, the shovel that Zero ran away with, and the empty canteens and started their trek across the desert. After an hour they didn't seem close the God's Thumb at all and Caveman could tell that their minds were wandering. Icy had taken her I-pod out of her backpack and was listening to that as Caveman was getting Zero to spell words. That took their mind off of what they were doing and before they knew it they were staring their climb up God's Thumb.

At one certain ledge Caveman almost fell off. Zero gave him the shovel to hold onto while he and Icy pulled him up. Because they were holding onto the blade part of the shovel, their hands got bad gashes. Icy expertly wrapped both their hands and they continued walking. Zero suddenly clutched his stomach and heavy, throwing up on the ground. He collapsed and started to roll down a hill but Icy had grabbed him.

Zero said he felt fine so they continued walking again. After about an hour Zero had to stop walking again so he could throw up. This time, he could get up because he was too weak so they decided to stop and rest.

"Everything will be fine," Icy said in a soothing voice as she gently stroked Zero's bushy hair. His head was resting on her lap and his eyes were closed. Caveman walked around for a little bit, looking out from God's thumb. Looking up, he saw that they were close, but it was still about a two hour climb.

"We have to keep going," Caveman said, turning to her.

"But Zero – "

"I'll carry him."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Icy lifted Zero's light body into her arms and placed him on Caveman's back. She hook Zero's arms around Caveman's neck and they started off once more. The sun started to go down, casting a shadow up on God's Thumb, making it cool to them. It took Icy a couple of minutes to get used to the cool air. She hasn't been in cool air ever since she arrived at Camp Green lake and she missed the feeling. She heard a noise after a while and stayed silent to place it and to find that it was Caveman singing softly.

"_If only, If only the woodpecker sighs_

_The bark on the tree was as soft as the skies_

_As the wolf waits below, hungry and lonely_

_He cries to the moo-oon, if only, if only."_

"Where'd you learn that song?" Icy asked as she jumped over a crack in the rock.

"My grandfather sang it to me ever since I was five. It's a Yelnats family song," he responded as he used the shovel as a walking stick.

"I've heard that somewhere before…" Icy said as she let her voice trail off.

"Where?" Caveman asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

"I don't…remember." They continued on in silence as the sun started to slip underneath the horizon. The air felt cool but Icy couldn't enjoy it because gnats kept flying in her face. She swatted at them as she continued to get aggravated. "Stupid gnats!"

"Wait," Caveman said as he suddenly stopped. "There are gnats up here."

"Yeah, and they're really annoying."

"Don't you know what that means?"

"Umm…"

"There has to be water nearby!"

Icy's eyes widened as his words sunk in. She listened and, sure enough, she heard a gentle lapping sound of water running. A smile crossed both their faces as they continued walking, their paces sped up a little. They started down over a hill and saw a stream rushing down the side. Caveman laid Zero down on the ground and splashed water on his face, causing him to jerk and wake up slowly. He looked around and a grin spread across his face when he saw the water and eagerly crawled forward and drank some of it, despite it being dirty. Icy leaned back on her elbows and sighed happily. _'I made it Glare. I knew one day I'd have to do something without you and Shorty. And I did it. I hope you're proud of me.'_

"C'mon, Zero. Wake up," Icy said one morning as she shook him awake.

"Whazzamatter?" He asked sleepily as he rubbed his eyes.

"We're going to dig one more hole," Caveman explained as he filled the empty jars with the water that they had been living off of.

"I'm not digging any more holes," Zero said defiantly.

"But this is important." Icy told him. "There's this tube that we found. Remember that?" Zero nodded. "Well, Caveman told me that when he had to see the Warden, he saw other tubes just like the one we found. It was a lipstick tube. We think that's where the outlaw, Kissin' Kate Barlow, hid her treasure. We think _that's_ what the Warden is making us dig for."

Zero pondered over this for a few more minutes before agreeing to join them. With heads held high, they began their trek back down the mountain. Icy calculated that by the time they got back to the holes it would be night fall again. They didn't say anything the whole time they walked. Saying something would just add to how exhausted they were, but they had to keep going. After a while they finally made it back to the over turned boat. From there, Zero led the way back to the camp. It took a while but once they started to see holes the sun was staring to set and they could heard voices float across the dry lake.

They hid in a hole and waited as they watched camp lights go out one by one. They waited until people were actually asleep before running towards the holes to find which one the tube was found in.

"Here it is, it's this one," Caveman said as he pointed breathlessly.

"No it's not!" Icy interrupted.

"Yes it is. I found it here – "

"After Shorty dropped it," Icy interrupted once more. "She found it first. It was in her hole. It was…in this hole," she said as she pointed at it and jumped in. Caveman did the same and took the shovel that Zero was holding down for him.

"I'll be right back. I need to get more shovels so we can dig faster," he whispered before running off. As he was gone Caveman and Icy took turns digging. Once Zero showed up the digging went by quicker. The hole started to get deeper and deeper as they continued to dig through the night.

"I don't think Kissin' Kate Barlow would bury the treasure this far," Icy said after a while.

"Good point, let's make it wider," Caveman said. They began scraping at the walls as dirt fell into the bottom. Caveman striked the wall and there was a dull thunk. Zero and Icy turned around and stared at him. He hit the wall again and against as more dirt fell until it revealed th side of a dirty and worn out chest. Excitedly, they all dug around it and pulled out the heavy chest.

"We did it!" Zero exclaimed.

"We found it!" Icy added breathlessly.

"Thanks for finding it for me," a voice said as three flashlight beams fell on them. Icy looked up to see Dr. Pendanski, Mr. Sir, and the Warden all standing there in their pajamas. She looked down and tried not to scream out loud when lizards crawled up over the chest and onto her neck. It kept crawling up until it rested on her blue cap. Caveman had two by his ears and Zero had three, one on his head and two on his shoulders.

"Oh my god!" The Warden gasped when she saw the lizards. She waited a couple of seconds before asking. "Well? What're you waiting for? Shoot them!"

"The lizards or the kids?" Dr. Pendanski asked.

"I wouldn't. If we shoot them then the lizards will go leaping everywhere," Mr. Sir responded. "It's best if we leave them there."

"It won't make any difference, they're dead anyhow," the Warden muttered. Those words chilled Icy to the bone as she felt the lizard on her head shift slightly.

'_This is going to be a loooooong night.'_

Icy could feel her eyes drooping once the first rays of sunlight came up. She looked and saw that Caveman and Zero were nodding off, only waking up when the lizards that were perched on them started to move down, away from the sunlight. The lizard on Icy's head stayed in it's same spot.

"Why aren't they dead yet?" the Warden muttered to herself. "The girl was supposed to be gone all ready."

"Excuse you!" I yelled suddenly, causing them all to jump. "Waddya mean 'the girl was supposed to be gone all ready'?"

"Well, seeing as you're going to die anyway. I never wanted you girls to come to this camp in the first place. But I had to let you come anyway. I knew you would distract the boys from digging. Especially that Squid boy you're sweet on. So, I decided to get rid of you girls one by one. I made them deprive your sister of water so she would get heat dehydration. I figured it would kill her, but she was just sent to the hospital. At least she's gone now."

"And how come you didn't do anything to me or SpitFire?" She demanded.

"Because no one cared about her. I knew that if I got rid of you and SpitFire, that Squid and Glare would refuse to dig and I wouldn't be able to find this treasure."

Icy growled under her breath as Zero stared hard at the side of the side of the chest. Caveman just rested his back on the wall of the hole. He heard a car in the distance but thought that he was imagining it.

"Oh no, what's she doing here?" the Warden asked as she turned to see the car.

"It's about time for the boys to come dig," Dr. Pendanski pointed out.

"Stall them! And make sure she doesn't come over here!"

Caveman listened as he heard Dr. Pendanski rush away. His cry of falling into the hole filled the air and caused them to start laughing. Soon every thing was silent until they heard footsteps once more and a feminine voice calling out, "Stanley!"

Caveman looked up along with Zero and Icy to see a Spanish looking woman glancing down in the hole along with a man with a tall black hat. He had stony features and they didn't change once he looked down and saw that they were trapped down there with lizards.

"How'd they get down there?" the woman asked.

"I'll tell you how. He snuck into my cabin, grabbed this chest, and ran out here and got himself into this hole," the Warden responded.

"WHAT!" Caveman exclaimed angrily. He handed his side of the chest to Icy and started to pull himself out of the hole. The lizards that clung to his legs went and stood under the shade of the chest before Zero and Icy started to get out themselves. The lizard that was on top of Icy's head was the only one that didn't go back down into the hole.

"Let me take that from you," the Warden said as she tried to take the chest from Zero's hands.

"What? No, it isn't yours," Zero said as he held on tighter.

"Now you don't know what you're talking about. Now give it to me."

"It has his name on it!"

"That's imposs – "

"See? Stan-Lee Yel-Nats!" Icy said as she pointed towards the name that was on the side, almost barely visible because of the dirt that was on it.

"He stole it, huh?" The woman asked as she glared at the Warden.

"That's impo…that's imposs…"

That was the first time that Caveman, Zero, or Icy had seen her at a loss for words.


	14. Camp Green Lake Closed

**Chapter Fourteen-Camp Green Lake Closed**

"Follow me, you three," Stanley's Lawyer said as she and the tall man, who was the Attorney General, started to walk back towards the camp. "You three, too," she added as she nodded towards Mr. Sir, Dr. Pendanski, and the Warden. Once they made it back to Camp the woman made Caveman, Zero, and Icy wait outside Mr. Sir's office.

"Are you going to keep that?" Zero asked, nodding towards the lizard.

"Yeah, I'll give it to Shorty," Icy responded as the lizard crawled down her neck and perched on her shoulder.

"But it's bite will kill you," Caveman pointed out.

"An eleven-spotted lizard might, but not this one," Icy insisted. "See? This one only has seven spots."

Before anyone could say anything else they heard the familiar creak of the Wreck Room door opening. Zero, Caveman, and Icy heard a familiar shout of "THEY'RE ALIVE!" before turning around. Squid was running towards them along with the rest of D-Tent.

"Glare?" Icy asked as her brain tried to register that it was actually her brother.

"Icy!" He shouted in happiness. A wide smile crossed Icy's face before she started running towards them. She wrapped her arms around Glare's shoulders and gave him a big hug. He wrapped his arms around her waist and picked her off the ground as he spun her around, giving her a hug. Once Glare let her go she stepped over and also gave Squid a big hug. Caveman and Zero got hair ruffles and high fives from the rest of their tent.

"I can't believe you guys made it!" X-Ray said in disbelief.

"Man, ya'll stink! What've you been eating?" Armpit asked as the tent laughed.

"So, what's going on?" Magnet asked.

"I'm going home," Caveman responded.

"What!" D-Tent exclaimed.

"All right Stanley, it's time for you to go home," Stanley's Lawyer said as she stared to lead Caveman away.

"I can't leave without my buddy Hector," Caveman insisted.

"He'll be fine, Stanley," Stanley's Lawyer told him in an urgent voice.

"Yeah, he's safe in our hands," Dr. Pendanski said as he placed a hand on Zero's shoulder. Icy made a face and turned her head away.

"I'm not leaving," Caveman said as he stood his ground.

"Go get Hector's files," Stanley's Lawyer insisted.

"What?" Dr. Pendanski asked.

"You heard her!" the Warden growled. Dr. Pendanski rushed inside the office. Zero looked at Icy but she shrugged. About two minutes later he came back out timidly as he closed the door behind himself.

"We seem to have…temporarily misplaced Zero's files," he said in a small voice.

"What kind of a camp are you running here?" the Attorney General asked as he glared at the Warden.

"A good one!" She snapped as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"All right, you're under arrest for child labor laws…" the Attorney General said as he turned the Warden around and handcuffed her.

"You're really leaving?" Twitch questioned.

"Yes," Caveman responded.

"Hey lady, you have a pen?" Squid asked Stanley's Lawyer.

"No, I'm sorry I don't," she responded. She glanced over at Mr. Sir as he held up a clipboard to his face. "But I'm sure he does."

"Yeah…yeah, I got a pen," Mr. Sir muttered as he handed the pen over.

"And…some paper?"

Mr. Sir handed over the clipboard and raised the collar of his jacket over his face. Squid pushed the top on the pen and began to scribble across the paper. He ripped it off and handed it to Caveman as he said, "Take this and call my mom. Tell her I said I'm sorry. Tell her…Alan said he was sorry."

"Will do, dude," Caveman said as he took the paper from Squid.

"Marion Sirville," the Attorny General suddenly said.

"Oh crap," Mr. Sir muttered.

"Your first name is Marion?" Zigzag asked with a laugh.

"You're under arrest for illegally working in the state of Texas. Whatever you say can and will be used against you in the court of law." The Attorney General said as she slammed Mr. Sir up against the wall.

"Officer, I had no knowledge of this," the Warden said in an innocent voice.

"Yeah, just like you didn't know Pendanski was no doctor neither," Mr. Sir muttered. D-Tent 'ooh'ed as the Attorney General glared at the wide eyed Dr. Pendanski.

"C'mon Stanley. C'mon Hector, we're leaving," Stanley's Lawyer said as she ushered them towards her car. A boom of thunder caught their attention. They all looked up to see storm clouds rolling in. In a matter of seconds rain started to pour down over the camp. The rest of the campers of Green Lake ran out of the Wreck Room and stared at the rain before everyone, including Caveman, Zero, and Icy, ran out into the cool rain. Whoops, hollers, and cheers rose up to the sky as they danced in the rain and enjoyed the cool feeling of it. "Hector! Stanley! Come on!" Stanley's lawyer called. Caveman led Zero over to the white car as the Attorney General placed the chest in the back of the car.

"Stanley. Stanley, please, just open it so I can see what's inside," the Warden begged.

"Excuse me?" Caveman asked as he closed the trunk and turned back to his tent.

"You be safe out there. Not everyone is as polite as us," X-Ray told him.

"All right," Caveman said before giving him a brief hug. He got into the back of the car, rolled down the window and called out, "D-TENT!"

"See you. We'll be seeing you," Squid said as he pointed his brown hat at the car.

"Bye Caveman. I'll miss you Zero!" Icy said as she waved as the car started to pull away. Twitch twitched slightly before he started to run after the car. "Hold on there!" Icy called after him. Squid grabbed him around the waist and started to pull him back as Twitch protested loudly and tried to get to the white jaguar that was pulling away.

"Excuse me sir, what's going to happen to the camp now?" Glare asked the attorney General.

"It's going to be closed down kid. You're going home," he responded as he smiled briefly. Glare smiled as he stepped back out into the rain and started to look around. He felt an arm loop around his waist and turned to see his sister smiling at him.

"What?" Glare asked as he placed an arm around her shoulders.

"Nothing. I just missed you. And now we're that much closer to seeing Shorty again," she responded as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Well, it's official guys, the camp is closed," Glare told the guys of D-Tent.

"What're we going to do now?" Armpit asked. Glare turned and saw a glint in Icy's eye. Seeing that look in her eye automatically made him know that she was thinking of a plan.

"I have an idea," Icy said slyly as the boys looked at each other, confused.

"Didn't think Icy was this smart," Magnet said truthfully as he walked into newly transformed Wreck Room. Icy got some connects so she could make their last stay at Camp Green Lake memorable. The furniture was taken out so there was room for a snack table and a large stereo. The tents were merged for the first time in the history of Camp Green lake as they tried to out do each other in dance contests. Music thumped as multicolored lights flashed. What's left of D-tent walked into the Wreck Room with awe evident on their faces. Icy and Glare stood by the snack table with proud smiles on their faces.

"How did you pull this off?" Zigzag asked Icy once they reached her.

"The Attorney General thought he owed it to us," she responded with a shrug. "I asked him to bring us some of this stuff and he agreed. Unfortunately…the guys don't know how to dance." They made faces at the boys who _tried _to show off for the other guys.

"Let's show them how its done," Glare said as he elbowed Icy lightly in the arm.

"After you, my brother," she responded as she pointed towards the dance floor. He rolled his eyes as he grasped her arm and lead her to the dance floor. He pushed people out of his way as Icy dashed over to a boy standing by the stero.

"Hey, I need you to play a song for me," she told him.

"What song?"

"Do you have anything by Daft Punk?"

"No.,"

"How about this, do you have anything from _this _generation?"

"Nsync."

"That'll have to do." Sighing, Icy joined Glare in the center of the dance floor. She nodded towards someone who was standing by the stereo. He nodded back and pushed a button before music started to play and the twins began their dance routine.

"Dude, you're so lucky you have a talented girlfriend," Magent said as he slapped Squid on the shoulder as they continued to watch the twins and their routine.

"Yeah, I know," Squid said, unable to hide his grin.

"Now where can I find a girl like that."

"Hey, back off man!"

"I aint saying anything!" Magnet held up his hands in mock surrender as he backed away. Squid smiled as he locked eyes with Icy. He nodded and waved as she nodded back, not missing a step. Some other boys looked between them jealously as SpitFire and Smirk joined the Montgomery twins on the dance floor.

They bowed to the applause that they got and soon a slow song came on. SpitFire's and Icy's eyes widened. When you're stuck at a guys camp and there's only two girls to ask to dance, it would be chaos!

"SpitFire?" Glare asked as he held out his palm. SpitFire smiled and placed her hand in his palm before wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head on his shoulder as he pulled her closer and wrapped his arms around her waist. Icy could feel many pairs of eyes on her as the boys came closer, asking if she would dance with them.

"You know, I would, but–" Icy started as she backed up slowly.

"But, she's dancing with me," Squid responded as he wrapped an arm around her waist. Icy sighed with relief as Squid gently led her to the dance floor. She ignored the disappointed boys' sighs as she rested her forehead on his collar bone as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tight against his body as they gently swayed to the music. She felt a light kiss on the top of her head and looked up to see a serious look on his face.

"Something's bothering you. I can tell, no one looks at me with that serious face unless something is wrong," she said as she looked up at him.

"Yeah, there is something wrong actually," he told her.

"What is it?" She asked, curiosity shining in her blue eyes.

"It's just that…tomorrow, when the camp closes, I'll be going home. And…we might not see each other again."

"I knew it," Icy whispered as she lowered her head.

"Knew what?" Squid asked as he lifted her head by her chin as he peered at her in confusion.

"That...I should never have fallen in love. It only causes me pain and – "

"Wait wait wait. You thought I was going to break up with you?" Icy nodded slowly. "Ice, I love you too much to do that. You're the first girl that I ever loved. All of the other girls I have dated…they're nothing like you. I never felt something. But with you…you make me whole. I could never break up with you."

"You mean it?" Icy asked as a smile crossed her face.

"Of course." Squid kissed her lightly and pulled back to unclasp the dog tag necklace he had around his neck. Icy turned around so he could clasp it around her neck. "There, now you have something to remember me by."

"When I first met you, you seemed like the rough 'n' tough type of person afraid to show his sensitive side."

"I know, and I was. But that was before I met someone that changed my life and…set me straight."

Icy smiled and hugged Squid tightly as they continued to sway to the music. Across the room Glare was holding onto SpitFire tightly as he thought about leaving the next day. SpitFire must've sensed this because she pulled away slightly and peered at him.

"What's wrong?" She asked softly.

"I'm just going to miss you, that's all,' he responded as he brought up a hand and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before resting his palm on her cheek.

"We can always mail each other and call each other, it will be like I never left you," she said as she smiled softly as she reached up and took his hand in hers. "I don't ever want to forget you, Glare. You're the first guy who likes me for me and knows how to tame my wild spirit."

"I try," Glare said with a small laugh and a shrug. SpitFire giggled softly which caused Glare to smile. "I'll miss your laugh most of all. I'll miss everything about you." SpitFire leaned forward and captured his lips with hers. He kissed her back gently and sighed softly. She slipped her tongue into his mouth and their tongues battle for dominance before they pulled away out of breath. "Especially that," he said after a few pants. SpitFire laughed and hugged him tightly.

The song changed back to a fast paced one and Icy, Smirk, and the rest of D-Tent joined Glare and SpitFire as they danced crazily to the music. Icy fought down the cry that wanted to come out of her. She was going to miss her friends badly, but she knew she had to face the life that was in front of her. Trials, hospital visits, and pain was part of her future, she knew that.

But she had a feeling that, no matter how far apart they are, her friends always had her back.

**A/N: ****Just so you know, I do take requests for fics on here. Whatever you want done just PM me and I'll get to it as soon as I can, but it depends on the category. Look at my profile and you can see what I like writing about. Just add the information like the plot, unless you want me to make it up, obviously what section, and what characters should get together. It could be the ones all ready there, or it could be those or any OCs of yours or mine if you're a fan of mine. Anyway, get the PMs coming.**


	15. Epilogue

**Chapter Fifteen-Epilogue**

"C'mon Icy, it's time to go," Glare said softly the next morning. Icy knew that they had to leave really early, that's why she didn't go to sleep that night. Squid's arm was wrapped around her waist as she sat up on her cot. She gently removed it and placed it on his chest as he continued to snore softly. She placed a note under his arm, lightly kissed his cheek, and left the tent, her backpack draped over her shoulder.

"Let's go," she said with a sigh as she followed her brother out of the tent. They walked over to the police car that was waiting for them. They climbed into the back and, before they knew it, they were leaving the dry desert behind. Glare fell asleep with his head resting on the window but Icy stayed awake, listening to her I-pod, shuffling through the pictures she took on her digital camera. A faint smile crossed her face as she continued looking through them. She put the camera away, closed her eyes, and fell into a light sleep.

The road was bumpy and the car was like an oven, even before the run rose. The twins had a hard time getting any sleep because of this, and because they were going to see their sister again. They got news from the police officer that she was doing fine and was on her way to recovery. They would get to the hospital by the afternoon and then they would be able to go home.

Glare made arrangements so they could live in the same place, as long as they get checked up on from time to time. They also had to pay for the house so he was thinking of getting a job. When he says they, he means himself and Shorty. There's a good chance that Crimson's could make it seem like Icy was the one who was getting sexually harassed so Icy would go to jail. But Glare knew, deep down, that Icy was innocent and Crimson would be the one who is sent to jail.

'_Maybe our lives can finally go back to normal now,'_ Glare thought as he ly awake, looking out the window at the random buildings that passed by. Icy was asleep with her head on his shoulder. _'Maybe we can finally live our lives the way we want it to go. We have a choice in our lives. Sure, we started off bad, but we can make things better. I know we can. It'll take a little bit, especially for society to accept us, but they will. And we will do the right thing all over again. I'm sure of it.'_

After what seemed like forever they pulled up in front of a hospital. The police officer followed them inside. Patients waiting to go back looked at them with fear evident in their eyes. Glare could see it. If Icy could, she didn't show it, but put a bored expression on her face. An anxious expression was on Glare's. He wanted to see his little sister so badly. He wanted to have an intellectual conversation with her. She may be young, but she knew more than she lead on.

Icy felt angered by the stares she was receiving. So what if she was wearing and orange jumpsuit and had dirt smudged on her cheeks? It doesn't mean anything. What do they know about her and what she has been through? Nothing. Icy kept a blank look in her eyes as she roamed the halls, following the police officer. Her hands were shoved in her pockets as the dog tag necklace around her neck clinked with every step she took. The sound reminded her of Squid and how much he liked being around Shorty. Shorty told her about their talks and how Squid was smarter than he let on. Shorty seemed to idolize the guy and at first Icy didn't understand why or how, but now she understood fully. It's because he's like a a piece of candy: hard on the outside and soft on the inside.

"She's in there, I'll leave you guys alone," the officer said as he nodded towards the window, where the blinds were drawn.

"Well…this is it," Glare said before moving towards the door. He wiped his sweaty palms on his jumpsuit. He grasped the knob, twisted it, and slowly opened the door. He stepped inside and moved over to let his twin in. Hesitantly, they walked side by side into the room. They stopped when they saw the small girl sitting on the bed. She looked a little pale and her black hair, that was usually up in pigtails, was loose so it hung loosely by her mid shoulder blades. She was flipping through a book, her green and blue eyes roaming the pages before she flipped it again.

"Shorty?" Icy asked gently. Shorty looked up, showing them her dull and bored blue and green eyes. They suddenly filled with emotion as a tear slipped down her cheek and a bright smile crossed her face.

"I didn't think I'd see you guys again!" She said in a hoarse voice as the twins rushed over. Glare gave her a big hug, followed by Icy. "What's been going on with you? How're you out? How'd you get so tan? Andy thing new happen in your love lives? What- "

"Shorty! Calm down!" Icy interrupted with a laugh.

"I'm sorry. It's just…great to see you guys again. I thought I was a goner."

"We did too," Glare admitted. "It took me a while to find out what was going on. The Warden was trying to get rid of all fo the girls there. She made Mr. Sir deprive you of water so you would die. You were stronger than she thought so you got sent here instead. Turns out we were right. She was looking for a treasure that belong to Kissin' Kate Barlow. Well, actually it belongs to Caveman. But it did help us get out of there like we thought it would originally."

"I knew it!" She exclaimed happily as she pulled the white sheets over her legs. "I just knew that it would help us, well you, get out."

"Yeah, you did," Icy said proudly as she ruffled Shorty's hair.

"Where'd you get that?" Shorty asked as she nodded towards the necklace around her neck with a knowing smile.

"Shorty," Icy said in a warning voice, despite her smile.

"Squid gave it to you right? You're boyfriend and girlfriend right? Did you kiss yet?"

"Yes, yes, and yes. We've kissed a lot of times, Shorty. He even – "

"Don't wanna know!" Shorty said as she covered her ears and grinned. "Hey, I'm smart, but I'm still a kid. Some thing you shouldn't tell me." She stuck out her tongue at Icy before turning to Glare. "What about you? You and SpitFire hitting it off?"

"Yeah," was all Glare responded with a casual shrug.

"Details! Hello!"

"God, you're such a girl," Glare said as he rolled his eyes. Shorty made an offended noise, grabbed her pillow, and smacked him across the face. An evil grin crossed his face before he lunged across the bed and started tickling her. She shrieked before she started laughing, trying to get him to stop. Icy placed her camera across from the bed, set on the timer, and joined in on the tickle fight. The camera flash went off, signaling that the picture was taken, but they didn't care.

They were finally together like family should be.

---

"How're you holding up?" Zigzag asked Squid as he sat down next to him on his cot.

"Fine," Squid responded bitterly without looking at him as he continued stuffing things into his bag. "How do you think I'm holding up?"

"Well, I thought – "

"I mean, I was just told 'goodbye' in a note! A note! That's a load of bull shit and…I sound like a girl," Squid said with a sigh as he leaned back on his cot.

"You'll get better, man," Zigzag said as he patted Squid's shoulder before getting up. "Come see me before you leave, promise man?"

"I promise, dude," Squid said as he gave him a thumbs up. He sighed before lifting the note to his face to read once more.

_Squid,_

_There are some things that you've always wanted to know about me, so here are things I can tell you without putting you in danger. I'm fifteen. Yeah, you're a whole year older than me. And I never was this close to a guy before, besides my brother, and I'm glad you were the one who got me to open up. You opened a part of me that I thought was locked away forever. Only someone who cares about me a lot would do that. I never thought anyone cared about me that much. But you proved it to me last night by being your sweet sensitive self. I had a great time with you and I wish you would come back with me and Glare. Even if we don't see each other ever again, I want you to know that I love you and you will always be in my heart. Don't ever forget me. I won't be able to forget you, no matter how hard I try. Just kidding, I never want to forget you. I'll always think of you and I love you until my last breath. _

_Icy_

_P.S. When you get out, try and find me, if you can. I want to see you again real soon!_

Despite the feelings that were inside of him, a smile crossed his face as he folded up the piece of paper, took off his hat, and stuck it in it before replacing it on his head. He knew that he would see Icy again soon. It was just a feeling he had.

And this feeling, for the first time, was one where everything in his world was going right for once.

_**THE END!**_

**A/N: Don't worry, there will be a sequel to this. Don't forget to review and check out my other stories. Until next time!**

**Crystal**

**And like I said before, I do take requests. So, if you want a story written by me (it depends on what category) send me a PM and i'll see what I can do!**


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